Demons and Scorn
by Shadow Quil
Summary: Sakura had many secrets. The Naruto story retold from the beginning, with major and minor changes. Minor Inobashing. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
1. Enter: Haruno and Uzumaki

Chapter One

Enter: Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura

_Twelve years ago, a nine tailed fox suddenly appeared! One swing of its mighty tails could crumble mountains or cause tsunamis. To fight the demon, people assembled the shinobi._

_Of course, the clans of the village were able to hold of the beast until the leader of the shinobi arrived. The Hyuuga clan with power over the Byakugan. The Uchiha clan with power over the Sharingan. Other, smaller and less powerful clans like the Akimichi clan, the Nara clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Aburame clan and the Yamanaka clan also helped._

_One by one, the ninja fell. Kunoichi crushed, shinobi torn limb from limb and ninja no older than three left without mothers and fathers. Truly a tragic time for everyone._

_A single brave shinobi was able to lock the monster up, but in doing so he lost his life. That shinobi was called the fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves._

_However, the seal of the nine tailed fox needed to trap the beast inside a new born child. The Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his own, soon to be orphaned child named Uzumaki Naruto for this cause, hoping that he would grow up as a hero for his sacrifice at such a young age._

_Death took the Hokage, but his wish was never fulfilled. The village grew to hate Naruto for the beast inside him, which he knew absolutely nothing about. As grownups and elders hated him, their children grew to treat him with the same distain without a known reason. No one was told of the Kyuubi inside him unless they were there when it happened._

_Thus, to get the attention he desired, Naruto began to pull pranks and get himself in trouble, he became the village fool, but nothing stopped the hateful glares and death promises he got every day._

[--

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" A blonde boy laughed from atop the Hokage monument, which he was currently covering in paint with disrespectful and crude picture and remarks on the stone faces. He was hanging from a robe suspended at the top of the monument.

"Hokage-sama!" A Jounin yelled as he ran into the Hokage's office, where the old man was writing with his pipe in his mouth.

"What is it? Is Naruto causing trouble again?" The Hokage asked, irritated by this daily occurrence.

"Yes! That punk Naruto is desecrating the Hokage monument, and this time with paint!" He told his superior urgently. The Hokage sighed, blowing out a puff of smoke, and put on his hat.

[--

"HEY, STOP CAUSING TROUBLE!" One Jounin yelled at the blonde boy from the roof of the Hokage tower.

"STOP DOING THIS EVERY DAY!" Another cried.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" A third man promised threateningly.

"LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DOING!" The fourth man pointed out.

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS!" The blonde boy yelled to them. "None of you guys could do something this horrible! But I can! I'm incredible!" He boasted loudly.

"Geez, what has that idiot done?" The Sandaime asked as he cleared his path though the crown on the roof.

"Third Hokage-sama, I apologise for this." One of the Jounin, with brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin and a scar across his nose, said to the Hokage while looking up at Naruto.

"Hn?" The older man said questioningly. "Oh! Iruka!" He said in recognition of the younger academy teacher. Iruka nodded and drew in a large breath.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING DURING CLASS TIME?! GET DOWN HERE YOU MORON!" Iruka yelled loudly at his pupil.

"Yikes! That's Iruka-sensei!" Naruto acknowledged, starting to freak out while swinging on the rope. He untied the rope and jumped up the monument to get away.

"Get back here!" One Jounin yelled as he ran after the boy, who was now running down the street.

"You'll never catch me! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto cried behind him as he continued to run. The blonde jumped up and began to leap from roof to roof to escape his pursuers.

"Naruto!" One of the two Jounin chasing him called.

"Hold on!" The other yelled. They continued to chase him when he when out of site, but as soon as the alley was empty Naruto pulled down his camouflage blanket which helped him to look like part of the fence.

"Haha! That was too easy." He stated to himself.

"Oh yeah, Naruto?!" Iruka asked loudly from behind him.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto yelped as he leapt forwards a little and landed on his right butt. "Where'd you come from, Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"No, what're you doing here? You're supposed to be in class." Iruka reminded him sternly, but calmly.

[--

Naruto was now tied up at the front of the class room with Iruka standing over him and all of his classmates sniggering at his predicament.

"I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time, and the time before that. Tomorrow you've got another chance, and you're messing it up again!"

"Bah." Naruto said, dismissing the embarrassing situation he now found himself in.

"Loser." A boy with a grey, fur-lined hooded jacked and a puppy in his lap muttered towards the blonde.

"Tell me about it." The cold, pink haired girl next to him mumbled, rolling her eyes. Her voice was too quiet for even the boy next to her to hear, but her piercing gaze rest on Naruto and made him look at her in question of the stare. It wasn't hateful, like all of the others he got, but…blank. No where was there any hostility _or_ joy. Just…nothing. She looked away and Naruto returned his look to Iruka.

"Tomorrow is the ninja school's graduation exam. You have failed the last _two_ times!" Iruka scolded. "This is now time to be causing trouble MORON!"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto sighed. That was all it took and Iruka snapped.

"But, because you missed it, Naruto, everyone will review the test on 'Henge no jutsu'! Everyone line up!" He commanded.

"WHAT?!" Most of the class yelled in complaint.

"Transform perfectly into me!" Iruka hollered at them. The class groaned, but did as they were told. "Haruno Sakura, you're up first." He stated, looking prompting at the girl dressed in a baggy black jumper and baggy black shorts that fell to her knees. Her long hair was braided high on her head and she had the standard ninja sandals on her feet.

"Pff, whatever." The pinkette stated as she stepped forward. Many people froze in fear as a few of the boys blushed. "Henge!" She yelled as she placed her hands together in the correct way.

Clouds covered her and, when they cleared, another Iruka was standing in front of the original with an impassive look on his face. Obviously, this was Sakura, since she was the only one -with the exception of a few boys in the class- who used that face all of the time. She transformed back and stood with her hand on her hip.

"Transformed into me…very good." Iruka complimented.

"Eh, whatever." Sakura said, brushing off the compliment. Iruka, who had been trying since she arrived at the school for the first time to get the girl to smile or at least show some emotion, sighed and told her go to the back of the line to await further instructions.

"Next, Uchiha Sasuke!" He called out. A boy with hair shaped like a chicken's backside stepped forward and nearly all of the girls, with the exception of two, swooned with big hearts in their eyes.

"Hn." The boy, Sasuke, said. He too preformed the jutsu and called out 'Henge' before clouds covered him completely. When the clouds cleared, Iruka was facing another one of himself with an expressionless face.

"Um…good." Iruka nodded. Sasuke went were Sakura was standing, at the back of the line, to wait for further instruction.

The next six people did as they were told and transformed into their sensei; some better or worst than others and none as good as Sakura and Sasuke were, but they all initially passed. This went on for about half of an hour until almost all of the class had been called.

"Okay, good." Iruka said as a boy ran back to the back of the line, just as the others had done. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"This is a total waste of time, Naruto." One boy behind Naruto told the blonde. He had brown hair -tied up to, unintentionally, make his head look like a pineapple- and lazy coal coloured eyes. He was tall, thin and had an IQ of over two hundred, but couldn't be bother to do anything that used too much effort when he could avoid doing it. Of course, he was the one who always slept in class.

"We always pay for _your_ screw ups." A blonde girl stated. She had her waist length blonde hair up in a high pony tail, leaving one platinum bang to cover the right side of her podgy, pig-like face. Her baby blue eyes glaring at Naruto the whole time as her up-turned nose turned even higher, like someone had permanently shoved a bad smell under it. She was the snooty blonde practically no one liked _and_ one of Uchiha Sasuke's biggest fans.

"Like I care." Naruto said back as he stepped forward.

'_Naruto…do your best.'_ A girl with moon-coloured eyes and short, dark indigo hair thought while pressing her index fingers togther, a blush covering the cheeks and nose of her pale face. She turned away when her only friend spoke to her, but looked right back again after a short exchange of words, as was expected from her friend.

'_Damn this sucks.'_ Naruto thought to himself. _'Okay, here we go!'_

"TRANSFORM!" He yelled as a cloud of smoke enveloped his body.

When the smoke clear, a beautiful, but naked, girl stood in Naruto's place, clouds covering her modesty. Iruka took only one look before falling back due to his nosebleed. Naruto turned back and burst out laughing.

"HAHA! Got ya! I call it 'Sexy no jutsu'!" He claimed though his laughter.

"YOU DUMB ASS! DON'T INVENT STUPID SKILLS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!!!" Iruka reprimand him with tissue up his nostrils to stop the blood.

"It was just a joke…" Naruto muttered as he walked back to his seat, passing kids who laughed at him. One even stuck their foot out to trip him, but Naruto was saved when said kid got hit across the class room for his attempted prank. Naruto looked up to see who had saved him from the humiliation of tripping over a foot when he was supposed to be a ninja in training, but the only person standing there was the one and the only female ice cube in the class, Haruno Sakura.

"Um…thanks." Naruto said sheepishly. Everyone in the class feared her, but Naruto had the world's biggest crush on her. Unfortunately, she was the girl who hated everyone, with the exception of her friend, Hyuuga Hinata. No one was sure how that –slightly odd- friendship between the local ice cube no one knows anything about and the quiet and meek shy-girl Hyuuga even started.

"Baka…as if it isn't bad enough that you just made a complete idiot out of yourself in front of the class. Besides, if you tripped, you'd fall right on top of _me_. It was self preservation." She told him coldly. Naruto looked down in disappointment and carried on towards the back of the line as more names were called.

[--

After school, Umino Iruka supervised Uzumaki Naruto as he cleaned _all_ of the paint off of the Hokage faces -suspended this time by a wooden platform hanging over the monument by four pieces of rope- with a small rag and a bucket of soap water. Talk about manual labour.

"This sucks…loser." Naruto muttered to himself, thoroughly pissed off by is sensei making him clean up the paint.

"You're not going home until you've cleaned off every single drop of paint, Uzumaki." Iruka informed him. Naruto paused in his scrubbing and looked up at the man watching him.

"Like I care! It's not like there's anyone at my home waiting for me to get back, ya know!" Naruto yelled. "Bah." He said before he went back to scrubbing off the dried paint. Iruka watched him sadly and sighed heavily as he looked up at the sky, watching the clouds as he wondered if the offer he was about to make would cause him to be broke for the month or if it would extend to a year this time.

"Naruto…" He called, getting the attention of the pre-teen.

"Yea, what do you want now, sensei?" Naruto asked him, looking up with a cautious glare.

"Well, I was just thinking…maybe if you get all of this cleaned off, I'll take you out for some ramen tonight. The good stuff…what do ya think?" Iruka suggested, scratching his cheek. He looked down at Naruto, only to see the young boy grinning up at him in joy.

"Now that's some serious motivation! Okay, I'll work harder than ever before now! I'll have this clean in no time at all! Believe it!" Naruto yelled, scrubbing like crazy. Iruka just smiled down at his student.

[--

Later that night, you could find Iruka and Naruto sitting at the Ichiruka ramen stand, taking up two of the five seats available. Just as promised, Iruka was paying for it. Naruto slurped his ramen, beef miso flavour to tell the truth, he grinned and did mental back-flips over the delicious flavour.

"Naruto…" Iruka called.

"Hm?" Naruto responded though a mouth full of ramen.

"Why were you doing that to the monument? To the Hokage faces, Naruto? I mean, you know _who_ the Hokage _are_, don't you?" The teacher asked in shock over what his student did.

"Of course I do." Naruto proclaimed as he slurped some more ramen, finishing his bowl and ordering another.

"Oh really?" Iruka asked; unconvinced that someone would do that if they knew.

"Everybody know. Basically, those who receive the Hokage name are the strongest ninja in their village, right? The best of the best? Undefeated ninja champs? And among them is the fourth Hokage; the one hero saved this village and all other villages from the nine tailed demon fox. He was the most amazing!" Naruto informed his sensei. Iruka sighed.

"Then why did you-?"

"Because, one day, I'm going to be greater than all of them. Me, Naruto, the next Hokage! A ninja legend! Then I'm going to surpass all the previous Hokages! Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me! Believe it!" Naruto proclaimed happily.

Iruka, shocked by the self-proclamation, just finished sucking the single ramen noodle into his mouth and swallowed.

"By the way…I kinda wanna ask a favour sensei. Just one request for your favourite student!" Naruto stated.

"What? You want seconds, another bowl?" Iruka guessed.

"No, I…wanna try on your ninja headband…your Hatei-ate…come on, just let me borrow it, please?" Naruto asked sweetly, flashing his sensei a fox-like grin.

"Oh, this?" Iruka asked, holding his Hatei-ate. "No way. You can only wear the leaf symbol Hatei-ate when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja. This is a symbol that you've come of age and ability to wear it, you'll get one tomorrow…if you pass the test." Iruka promised.

"That is so un-cool!" Naruto complained.

"Hey, hey, hey! Is that why you took off your goggles?" The sensei asked, gesturing to Naruto's former head-gear now lying on the counter beside the blonde, in amusement.

"Uh…I want another bowl!" Naruto yelled, trying to get his teacher to forget the question.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Not like that was going to happen though.

[--

"We will now start the final exam." Iruka announced. "Now, for the final exam, you will be tested on your Bunshin no jutsu. When your name is called, proceed to the testing room."

'_THAT ONE!? THAT'S MY WORST SKILL! I CAN'T DO BUNSHIN FOR MY LIFE! Great, I'm never gonna pass!'_ Naruto wailed in his head.

"First up, Aburame Shino. Come with me please." Iruka said as the stoic, bug-jutsu boy of the insect clan stood silently and followed him out.

"S-Sakura-chan, d-do you think w-we'll pass the t-test?" Hinata asked the, normally terrifying, girl in black. The Hyuuga herself was wearing the same outfit as her friend, but instead of black her main colour was lighter, being a nice shade of tan. Both had decided that they would wear the same outfits and change training clothes once they left the academy.

"Pff, if they fail us, I'll skin 'em alive." Sakura stated in all seriousness, but Hinata could tell she was joking. They shared that sort of friendship where Hinata could tell what Sakura meant by her statements and tone of voice, so if she said something completely horrible to her, Hinata would understand that she probably meant something akin to a compliment and not an insult. Sakura, as you might have guessed, wasn't very open. As an answer to this, Hinata learned to read her tone of voice. If she said something like 'you have terrible skills and are weak', Hinata knew from experience that she really meant 'come here and I will help you with your aim' or whatever they were practicing.

"I-I w-w-wonder if they g-give you a s-sp-specific amount t-to s-sp-split into." Hinata wondered quietly. Sakura was about to reply when Shino came in and walked to a boy named Akimichi Choji, telling him to go into the testing room.

"Well, we're not going in any time soon." Sakura sighed as she jumped up on a desk and lay down on her back. She placed her hands behind her head to use as a make-shift pillow and crossed her right leg over her left, causing Hinata to blush at the bold choice in relaxing her friend made. The Haruno just looked lazily at her Hyuuga friend and rolled her eyes softly.

[--

"Sorry to interrupt your…whatever you kids were doing in here, but I would like to tell you that we will no longer be going in alphabetical order and you will be called in at random. The reason for this is that Mizuki sensei lost the list of names, so I had to make a new one off the top of my head and…anyway. Next is Hyuuga Hinata." He called to the shy girl. The pale Hyuuga girl stood up and blushed as a few people turned their attention to her.

"Y-Yes, s-sensei." Hinata stuttered shyly. She received some unlikely encouragement from her friend, Haruno Sakura, though a nod and a comforting hand on the Hyuuga girl's shoulder -which many people in the class were shocked about- and she followed Iruka into the testing room with slightly more confidence than before.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Naruto chanted out loud as he remembered the big failure he was last time he attempted Bunshin.

"Shut up." He heard a female hiss calmly. Thinking that she was talking to him, Naruto looked up, only to see Yamanaka Ino, who seemed to be steaming with anger, standing next to Haruno Sakura, who was just as calm as ever.

"You shut up, forehead-girl!" Ino yelled, too angry to notice the blush-haired girl's right eye twitch. In less than a second, Ino was pinned against the wall with a kunai in the right shoulder of her shirt and another dangerously close to the left side of her neck.

"Hn, watch your mouth, porker." Sakura taunted.

"Next, Haruno Sakura!" Iruka called as a beaming Hinata re-entered the room with a Hatei-ate in her hand.

"Nice job, Hinata-chan." Sakura said to her friend, still as emotionless as ever. However, the Hyuuga girl must have know that her friend really meant what she said, since Hinata jumped at the pinkette and hugged her tightly around the neck. Gasps were heard around the class, but Hinata wasn't thrown back or killed immediately for the contact, as many would have been in her place. Sure, Sakura didn't return the embrace, but she didn't push Hinata away. She just seemed a bit uncomfortable by the sudden and unasked for invasion of personal space.

"Haruno, now!" Iruka barked. Sakura rolled her eyes and pried Hinata's arms from around her neck gently. When the Hyuuga realised that she had been touching Haruno -which the girl hated with a vengeance- she quickly jumped back, apologised and bowed her head in a way of asking forgiveness.

"Feh, whatever. I have a test to pass." Sakura said as she walked passed Hinata, her hand lingering on the heiress' shoulder as she passed in a gesture of forgiveness until the indigo-haired kunoichi was too out of her reach. She walked out of the door to take her test. Ino, in all of her pig-faced glory, immediately pulled the kunai out -with quite some trouble for a kunoichi in training- and stomped towards Hinata.

"Ha! Now that freak girl isn't here, who is gonna save you?" Ino sneered nastily as she pushed Hinata onto the ground.

"O-Ouch." Hinata squeaked as she landed on her butt, hitting the hard floors roughly. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering and mentally wished that Ino would disappear or Sakura would come back.

"You shouldn't have passed that test at all, let alone became a ninja, s-st-stu-stutter g-gi-girl." The blonde boar taunted. Naruto was about to jump in and save her, but a shuriken blasted passed him and nicked Ino's podgy cheek, drawing a line of blood.

"I _never_ abandon her, _Yamanaka-pig_." Sakura hissed darkly, causing almost everyone except Hinata –who had herd that tone of voice more than once before and was not used to it- to shudder from her tone. As she had said it from the door, the left side of her face being the only thing visible since it was mostly closed, she looked even creepier. Ino gulped loudly -practically in tears from her fear- and moved away from Hinata, letting the Hyuuga gather her things and sit alone in the back of the classroom to wait for her friend in peace.

[--

Naruto's turn to take the test came too quickly for his liking and he was more nervous than ever before. Everyone who had come back from the test had passed, but it was Naruto's worst subject over all. Haruno Sakura, when she came out a few minuets ago, had shot him another blank look and nodding in his direction, which was something almost like to a good luck gesture from a girl like her. Let me tell you, it's uncommon to have Sakura look in your direction unless she's going to attack you, so a gesture of –almost- kindness was like seeing all of the Hokage's in a line performing the 'Can-Can'.

He entered the testing room, where Iruka and another sensei named Mizuki were sitting with Hatei-ates on the desk in front of them. They looked towards him when he entered and Naruto began to sweat. He gulped and closed his eyes tightly, moving to stand in the middle of the room in front of them. When he re-opened his eyes, he saw the older man both waiting for him to do the jutsu.

'_Okay Naruto, you can do this. Believe it!'_ He thought, trying to give himself a boost of confidence for the test. Placing his hands together properly and performing the correct hand seals, Naruto preformed the technique.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" He yelled as smoke covered the room. When it cleared, a very pathetic clone was lying on the floor. It was dead and completely useless, so Naruto and Iruka just stared at it with distain and slight twitching of their eyes.

"YOU FAIL!" Iruka yelled. Naruto fell over and moaned in hatred of his failed clone jutsu.

"Iruka-sensei." Mizuki called, his jaw-length white hair falling over his dark grey eyes slightly as he spoke. "His moves weren't bad and he did hang in there and replicate. This is his third try, so we know he really wants to become a ninja. We could cut him a break and pass him."

With the words from his white-haired sensei's mouth, Naruto grinned and his eyes sparkled with hope.

"Mizuki-sensei, the other students created at least three effective replications, some of the better students even managing to go up to ten at once! But Naruto could only create one…and just look at it. It's completely useless. Just pitiful. I can't let him pass this test." Iruka stated.

Now he knew that he had failed the test for the third time in a row, while everyone else had passed, he couldn't help but think whether Iruka had something against him. Even with Mizuki's suggestion –a perfectly reasonable argument for Naruto to pass- Iruka still shot him down like a fish in a barrel. Naruto's hope shattered and he clenched his fists to keep from lashing out at Iruka. He did, however, let out an audible growl as he marched from the room and left the building.

[--

After school, all of the graduates gathered outside of the academy with their classmates and parents, showing off the Hatei-ates they had earned though passing the Bunshin test. Naruto was sitting on the swing alone, watching the whole thing with utter and complete sadness in his lonely oceanic blue eyes.

"I'm proud of you…we all are." One parent would say to their child.

"Great job!" Another would say. This only succeeding in making Naruto feel even worse.

"Oh! You look great!" A third would announce proudly.

"Finally a ninja…you've made me proud." Would be the final remark, said with the utmost sincerity.

"Hey, that kid…you see him?" A woman said, gesturing to Naruto.

"Yeah, he's '_that_' boy. He's the only one who failed the exam." Her friend stated back.

"Well, it serves him right, if you ask me." The first said nastily.

"Just imagine what would happen if _he_ became a ninja." The second said, not nastily but in a concerned voice. "I mean, he's the boy who-"

"Shh! We're not allowed to even _talk_ about that. Not ever!" Her friend scolded, pulling an angry face at Naruto.

"Pathetic." A cold voice said from next to him. Naruto turned and saw Sakura wither Hatei-ate around her neck, her friend Hinata standing behind her, also with the ninja headband around her neck.

"What is?" Naruto asked, seeing that the kunoichi wasn't looking at him when she said this. Sakura didn't answer, but chose to glare at the gossiping women, making them freeze and walk away. Hinata smiled, glad that her friend was proving that she really wasn't as cruel as everyone thought, just misunderstood.

"Stupid gossip hounds. Are you gonna _take_ that, Uzumaki?" Sakura asked the blonde nastily.

"W-Well…I-I…um…" Naruto stuttered, not really sure what to say.

"Pff, you let them walk all over you. In that case, _you're _the truly pathetic one. Do something about it…_big baby_!" She scolded him as she walked away, taking the blushing Hyuuga with her. Naruto looked to the ground and though about what she said.

Feeling a presence, Naruto looked up again to see of Sakura was back to tell him off some more. However, he only saw the smiling face of his sensei –Mizuki- looking down at him.

[--

"Iruka, I need to talk to you." The Hokage called to the brunette.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Iruka answered in a serious, but at the same time curious, voice.

[--

"Iruka-sensei's tough, but he's not against you." Mizuki said to Naruto as they sat on a ledge overlooking the rest of Konoha.

"Then why? Why wont he pass me?" Naruto asked, not believing what Mizuki had just told him.

"He wants you to be as strong as you can, with all his heart. But that will never happen if he goes easy on you." Mizuki informed him. "He's like you, you know? No parents. No family. He probably sees himself in you, somewhere. He wants you to become strong in the real way. Try to understand his feelings, since you also have no parents."

"But…this time I really wanted to graduate." Naruto confessed sadly.

"Well then, I guess I have to tell you." Mizuki said mysteriously.

"Huh?" Naruto acknowledged, looking up at the taller man.

"It's a secret, but I'm gonna let you in on it." Mizuki said, smirking to himself when he felt the presence of another one of the children from Naruto's class listening in.

'_A secret…?'_

[--

"_Iruka…"_

"_What is it, lord Hokage?"_

"_I know how you feel. You grew up just like Naruto. Without knowing the love of a mother and father. The warmth of a family."_

[--

"_**Let me go…my mom and dad are still fighting back there!"**_

[--

"Iruka-sensei, wake up!" A man yelled from the door of Iruka's apartment, sounding urgent.

"What? What is it?" Iruka asked as he opened the door and came face-to-face with Mizuki.

"You need to come to lord Hokage's right away. It's Naruto…he's stolen the sacred scroll." Mizuki informed him.

"You mean the scroll of sealing?! NO!" Iruka cried desperately as the two jumped onto a roof and sped towards the Hokage tower.

"That's not all!" Mizuki yelled to Iruka, coming closer so that he could remain as quiet a possible.

"What else?" The brunette question.

"Another one of our students is with him." Mizuki said back, hoping Iruka would take the bait.

"…Who?" Iruka enquired worriedly. Mizuki smirked.

'_Hook, line and sinker.'_ He thought as he opened his mouth to tell Iruka the name of the child with Naruto.

[--

"Let's see…the first one is…Kage Bunshin?! What the hell?! Why does it start with the one I'm bad at?!" Naruto yelled as he looked though the scroll he had borrowed from the Hokage's tower. He was sitting in a forest looking thought the scroll, with a wooden hut behind him. Thinking he was alone, Naruto didn't notice the huge chakra signature approaching his location…fast.

[--

"Lord Hokage, this is not just a prank. This is a serious crime!"

"That scroll contains secrets that were sealed by the first Hokage. Secrets that are known only to _our_ village!"

"If it falls into the wrong hands, they could destroy our entire way of life!"

"Alright!" The Hokage started. "Bring Naruto here at once!"

"Yes sir!" The Jounin gather said together as they stood at attention.

"Go!" The Hokage commanded and they all jumped off to look for Naruto.

[--

'_Where would he go?'_ Iruka asked himself mentally.

[--

'_Now that I've told everyone what Naruto did, I can eliminate him. They'll be glad he's gone. Then, of course, I keep the scroll for myself. I just hope that the other one took the bait too.'_ Mizuki thought with a wicked grin as he went right to Naruto.

[--

Naruto sat on the floor of the forest, panting after all the hard work he put into learning the jutsu in the scroll. His hands held the now rolled up scroll tightly as he gasped for air. He only looked up when a dark shadow loomed over him. As he looked up, the first thing that caught his eyes was the glint of a Hatei-ate and angry eyes.

"S-Sakura-chan?" He asked, adding the suffix by accident.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She hissed angrily at him, her emerald orbs burning with rage. Naruto backed off slightly. No one had seen her so much a frown, but now he was on the wrong end of her anger, ten-fold.

"I'm just…um…you know-"

"Shut up! All of the available Jounins and Chunins and even a few Genins and ANBU operatives are out looking for you right now, Uzumaki. Do you not realise what you've done?!" She asked him unbelievingly. Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm learning Kage Bunshin." He admitted.

"Give me that!" Sakura hissed as she took the scroll from him and attached it to her back. She sent him a glare and was about to leave when Naruto stopped her with a question.

"So do you hate me too, now?" He asked sadly.

"Wha-?" Sakura enquired in blank confusion.

"You _do_ hate me. You're out here yelling and threatening me, so you must hate me, or something." He confirmed. Sakura just closed her eyes and sighed.

"You're right, Naruto. I do hate you." She admitted. Naruto looked down in shame. "But not for the reasons you think. I hate everyone, basically; with the exception of Hinata-chan, of course. Actually, I used to hate her too, but she kind of grew on me." Sakura admitted thoughtfully.

"So, there's still hope for me becoming your friend? Even after all of this yelling and stuff, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked hopefully. In his mind, not even becoming a ninja can outweigh the change of becoming Sakura's friend. Anyone would kill to have her place you on her list of friends, which was currently limited to Hinata. In fact, anyone would try to kill Hinata if it meant taking her place as Sakura's friend. Unfortunately, trying to kill Hinata would earn you a place in hell rather than on Sakura's friendship list.

"Respect, Uzumaki Naruto. You need my respect before you can have my friendship. But, maybe one day, it'll happen." She said, shrugging. Naruto was about to jump up and hug her, but a cough stopped him.

"It's all over. Hehe." Iruka said as he looked at the two. "Huh?" He questioned as soon as he heard Naruto start to laugh.

"Hehehehehe. Caught me already, huh? Not bad. You're quick sensei; I only had time to learn this one really cool technique." Naruto stated as he was looking as innocent as ever.

'_He's been out here practicing.'_ Iruka acknowledged. _'I can tell how hard he's been working. Sakura, however, looks suspicious enough to be the one who convinced him to take the scroll for her.'_ He added as he cast a wary glance towards the Genin kunoichi with the scroll strapped to her back, who returned his look with a glare. She knew what he was thinking

"Listen, Iruka-sensei. I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu and you're gonna let me graduate, and then everything will be okay. That's the way it works, right? Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes. Right, am I right?" Naruto asked hyperactively. Sakura rolled her eyes at his obliviousness.

"Huh? Where'd you get that idea?" Iruka asked.

"Mizuki-sensei told me about it. Believe it!" Naruto said, waving his arms around in a carefree way. "He told me where to find the scroll, and this place…"

'_Huh? Mizuki?'_ Iruka questioned in his mind. A barrage of kunai suddenly flung themselves at Naruto and Iruka, but the latter pushed Naruto out of the way just in time. He couldn't, however, save himself and he ended up with kunai lodged in his leg and all over his uniform to pin him to the hut behind him.

"I see you found our little hide away." Mizuki said, his tone sounding amused as he appeared on a tree branch with two fuma shuriken strapped to his back.

"So that's how it is, huh? I should have known!" Iruka yelled.

"Naruto! Give me the scroll, now!" Mizuki commanded.

"Wait a minuet." Naruto said as he looked between his teachers. "What's going on here?"

"Naruto, don't let Mizuki get the scroll." Iruka said as he pulled out one of the kunai in his vest. "It contains forbidden jutsu, which could put this village in great danger. Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself; for his own power."

"Naruto, Iruka's just trying to scare you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll." The white haired man countered without skipping a beat in his band of lies.

"Stop lying, Mizuki. Don't let him trick you, Naruto." Iruka warned, trying to pull out the kunai from his leg. Sakura, who had been long since forgotten, kept her face emotionless as she hid in the shadows of one of the trees with the scroll on her back.

"Haha, oh I'll tell you who's really lying." Mizuki promised, chuckling darkly.

"No Mizuki!" Iruka yelled. Sakura narrowed her eyes and her lips tightened into a snarl when she saw the look of horror and pleading on Iruka's face. Obviously, this man was about to tell Naruto something important.

"They've been lying to you throughout your whole life, Naruto. Since the decree twelve years ago." Mizuki began.

"What…decree?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"Everyone knows except you and the youth of Konoha. Iruka's trying to hide it from you too. Even now, he'd do _anything_ to shut me up." The white haired man admitted.

"What is this decree? Why does almost everyone else know about it?" The blonde asked again, more confident this time.

"Don't tell him, Mizuki! You know that it is strictly forbidden!" Iruka yelled more urgently. Sakura was getting nervous. She so much wanted to hear what Mizuki had to say, but she was also the only one who could shut him up.

"The decree is…no one can tell you that the nine tailed fox, the Kyuubi…is in _you_!" Mizuki concluded. "The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You _are _the nine tailed fox, Naruto!" Naruto's eyes widened and he gasped. Sakura, however, narrowed her own and glared at the white-haired man.

"STOP IT!" Iruka yelled, ripping out one of the kunai in his shoulder.

"They've all been sneaking around and hiding things from you your whole, entire life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Just like dirt! Like they hated you for even being alive!" Mizuki said, grinning evilly as he did so.

"No! No, no, no!" Naruto yelled. He was surrounded by blue chakra, the chakra of the Kyuubi.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out in desperation.

"That's why you will never be accepted in this village. Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!" Mizuki claimed. Iruka tried to move, but the pain in his leg was too great. "Die Naruto!" The man yelled as he threw one of the shuriken at the blonde.

"Naruto, get down!" Iruka yelled to him.

Naruto turned and ducked while he closed his eyes, too distraught to do anything else, and waited for the pain. However, it never arrived. All he felt was drips of a wet liquid fall on his hands. He shakily opened his eyes and saw brown hair blowing in his face with kind brown eyes looking down at him.

The fuma shuriken, the one that was meant for him, was dug firmly into Iruka's back and a lot of blood was falling from his new wound. Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of his teacher risking his life for him. Sakura, who should have helped sooner rather than hidden, glared at the ground in guilt, but remained emotionless as ever. Mizuki's eyes widened and he clenched his teeth.

"W-Why?" Naruto gasped though his tears.

"Because we're the same." Iruka told him. "When I lost my parents…no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me…they just forgot I was there." He admitted. Sakura felt a tug at in her chest at his confession that she had never felt before.

"He's…" She said, trailing off at the end. Sakura, feeling the tug vanish, frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, digging her nails into the skin slightly. Iruka continued after taking in a laboured breath.

"My grades dropped…I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me…and to know my name. My school work wasn't good enough to get their attention…so I did crazy things…and then I had to pay for it…it was hard. I know exactly how you feel Naruto…you feel lonely and it hurts inside…and I could have been there for you more. But I let you down…and I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much…no one should be alone like that." Iruka concluded.

Mizuki, being the _awesomely_ evil dude he is, began to laugh bitterly at the tear-jerking, heart-wrenching scene splayed out before him. Sakura moved her glare from the ground, back up to the Jounin traitor for laughing so cruelly at another's misfortune and her nails dug into the skin harsher this time, drawing a small amount of blood. The girl, however, didn't even flinch at the sting of her ten small, new wounds.

"Don't make me laugh!" He boasted, even thought it was obviously too late for that. "Iruka always hated you. He was orphaned because the nine tailed fox killed his parents. And that beast is now inside you. He'd say _anything_ to get the scroll from you." Mizuki told him. Naruto got up and ran a short distance from both of them, towards the bush Sakura was hiding in. He scowled and looked at his feet.

"Then it's too bad. I don't have it!" Naruto yelled. Mizuki, realising his error, stared at Naruto with wide, angry eyes and clenched his teeth.

"They who does?!" Mizuki screamed in frustration.

"I do." Sakura admitted, stepping out of the bush and standing next to Naruto.

"S-Sakura-chan! Y-You're still here?" Naruto asked worried. He noticed the blood on her arms, but stayed quiet about it.

"Yea." Sakura told him while still ignoring the suffix he had began adding to her name.

"H-How much did you hear?" He questioned shakily, not wanting her to have a reason to hate him more than how much she hated everyone else.

"All of it." She told him, glaring at Mizuki.

"Well, well. Little Sakura-chan. Yes, the only person in the _whole_ class who preformed not only a perfect Bunshin jutsu without wasting chakra during the test, but a _Kage_ Bunshin jutsu. The very Bunshin jutsu that can only be learned though the sacred scroll of sealing." Mizuki said, smirking at her. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your point?" She asked nastily. Naruto, who now knew that the Kage Bunshin was only found in the scroll, stared at the girl with wide eyes.

"I just wanted to know how you discovered it. Unless, of course, you looked in that scroll too." Mizuki said with an innocent shrug.

"I did." Sakura confessed without a single note of regret in her voice. The other sensei, Iruka, watched her confess to the crime without hesitation.

"Were you planning on taking it from Naruto as well?" He asked her.

"So what if I was?" She asked, pulling the scroll off of her back and holding it.

"You could get arrested. As long as I kill Naruto and Iruka, no one will be around to tell the Hokage that _you_ didn't convince Naruto to steal the scroll for you and then kill him and Iruka." Mizuki grinned evilly. Sakura raised a brow and smirked.

"I have it now, anyway." She stated. Mizuki's grin fell and he looked at her in worry. "That and I've memorised all of the jutsus in it and learned almost all of them."

"You're lying." Mizuki accused. The pinkette kept her smirk, proving that she wasn't lying in the slightest.

"The only thing I need to be able to perform every jutsu in here perfectly is practice. I could just burn it and it would be of no consequence to me what so ever." She ended with a non-caring shrug.

"How about giving it to me, Sakura? I can help you fulfil your goal. You're life-long dream. You know which one I mean." He tempted. Sakura's form went ridged and she froze in place.

"No! He's lying! Don't do it, Sakura!" Iruka yelled from the ground.

"You saw the look Iruka gave you when he first saw you here with Naruto and the scroll. He believed that _you_ were the one who convinced Naruto to steal it!" Mizuki reminded her. "Don't try to deny it, Iruka." He added when he saw the brunette open his mouth to protest. Iruka lowered his head in shame and accepted the truth.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked shakily, raising his hand to put it on her tense shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped as she ran off into the forest with Naruto hot on her trail.

"Naruto! Sakura!" Iruka called after them.

"Hehehehehe." Mizuki laughed as he jumped next to Iruka. "You know what those two are like. When they make up their minds, nothing will convince them to change it. They're stubborn like that." He mused with a smirk on his face. "Sakura is going to try and destroy the scroll and leave the village and Naruto will try to stop her, only to follow it up by using the scroll to take revenge on Konoha. You saw the look in her eye and his own, didn't you? Naruto's are the eyes of a beast, and Sakura's, well…hers are the eyes of a child in pain, ready to be consumed by her hatred."

"No…those two…" Iruka started, taking the fuma out of his back and hurling it at Mizuki. "Aren't like that!" Mizuki dodged easily and smirked.

"You're a joke." He taunted. "As soon as I eliminate Naruto and convince Sakura to join me with the scroll, I'll be back for you." He promised as he jumped in the direction the two twelve-year-olds went.

'_I wont let you!'_ Iruka said in his mind, creating his own promise.

[--

The Sandaime Hokage looked though his crystal ball and watched as Naruto ran after Sakura, who was still in possession of the sacred scroll of sealing. She was much faster than him usually, but in her state of unsure thoughts, she was too distracted to speed up. So many thoughts must have been buzzing though her mind at this precise moment in time.

"This is not good." The Hokage said to himself. "That Mizuki has a big mouth. He made Naruto feel so bad…worst than he's ever felt. It could unleash the power inside of him. On top of all of that, he just made that Haruno girl a promise she can't possibly refuse. With her working with him, even without the scroll, he could control unimaginable power. She has the potential in her that could make every Kage of every village beg for mercy and, if Mizuki manages to convince her, they will. With that scroll and Mizuki's ability to manipulate, Sakura could easily be swayed into a situation were she promises to help him gain power and even to kill Naruto herself. Also, if Naruto tampers with that scroll any more, the seal that kept the demon fox inside of him…could be broken. The beast could come out. If that happens or if Sakura joins Mizuki, I fear for us all."

[--

Naruto was still running after Sakura, but she was extremely fast and, in this state of mind, a danger to his life. She turned once to glare and yell at him, trying to make him leave her alone, but Naruto saw though her hate-filled yells and deadly glares. She too, was just like him. She was all alone.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled as he caught up with the vessel. "Everything Mizuki said was a _lie_. Help me catch up to Sakura and get the scroll, hurry! He's coming to kill you and take Sakura and the scroll away!" The brunette infirmed the jumping –usually cheerful- blonde ninja-in-training.

The blonde snarled and leapt forward, knocking Iruka back with a great push in the gut, making it painful as possible. Iruka fell on the ground and skidded backwards on his back. Naruto also dropped to the ground and skidded towards the man using his feet. He was panting from all the running he had just done. Sakura, hearing the commotion, stopped and concealed herself in a bush again to watch the scene. She, however, hadn't even broken a sweat.

"It can't be." 'Iruka' said as he got up. Naruto collapsed on his butt by a tree and watched the teacher. "How did you know, Naruto? How did you know…" Here he paused as a cloud covered him, returning him to Mizuki and not Iruka. "That it was actually _me_?"

"Because…I'm Iruka." 'Naruto' stated as he too was covered in cloud, transforming him back into the brown haired sensei. Sakura stifled a gasp as she watched the two and she began scanning the woods to find the chakra to signify where Naruto was.

"You're a fool." Mizuki stated coldly with a sneer. "Why are you protecting that freak and the child of scorn? He's the one who wiped out your family and she could do the same to you."

"I don't care what you say. You're not killing Naruto _or_ getting near to Sakura and that scroll." Iruka said defiantly, Naruto, who was hiding behind a tree, and Sakura both let their eyes widen in shock. Their sensei, the one who was orphaned though the beast in Naruto and coldly brushed off by Sakura every day, was defending them.

"As if you could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto and Sakura are both mirrors of me in their own way." Mizuki informed him.

"How's that?" Iruka asked, ready to come to the defence of the two of them if he said anything out of line.

"Naruto wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance; that's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything in his path." Mizuki pronounced. "As for Sakura…well, she's full of rage, scorn and hate. Not even I know why, but it's there. I can feel it boiling up inside of her every day of her life. One of these days, she'll lash out and kill anyone who stands in her way."

"You're right." Iruka confessed. Naruto gasped, but Sakura scowled.

"So its true." Naruto said to himself. "Iruka-sensei never ever believed in me. He thinks I'm some beast. Some kind of…freak!"

"I knew not to trust Mizuki…but I though Iruka was different." Sakura hissed to herself angrily.

"That is how beasts and scornful children are." Iruka continued. Both of the hiding children's ears perked up. "But that's not who Naruto and Sakura are. They're nothing like that. Those two are each individuals and you'll never find any kids like them. They work hard, put their whole hearts into it. Even though Sakura doesn't show it, she cares for her friend –Hinata- and would risk her life to save her. Sure, Naruto messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him. Sure, Sakura has the same amount of shown emotions as an ice cube and people fear her for that and her over whelming power. But their suffering only makes them each a lot stronger. That's what separates them from being a beast or a child utterly consumed by hate, so you're wrong. Naruto is nothing like the nine tailed fox and Sakura won't lash out and kill everyone she sees. Those two are Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura of the village hidden in the leaves!"

Naruto was crying by this point, as no one had ever said these things about him, while Sakura just grew angrier and angrier at all of the insults Mizuki was saying about Naruto. Not that she wasn't angry that he was insulting her too, but she care more when people insult or hurt someone who doesn't deserve to have that resentment thrust upon them. It wasn't as if she likes him -she did hate him, just like she hated almost everyone else- but Naruto wasn't the way Mizuki described him and Iruka was right about the blonde. Herself, she wasn't too sure about.

"Hm, you really believe that drivel? Iruka, I was gonna save you for later, but I changed my mind. YOU'RE FINISHED!" Mizuki yelled as he took his second fuma shuriken and spun it in his hand. He then ran at Iruka and prepared to strike.

'_So this is it.'_ He thought to himself. However, before Mizuki got close enough to strike, Naruto ran in and kicked him in the jaw, throwing Mizuki back and causing him to release his shuriken. It spun off and cut branches on its way but disappeared. Sakura had to move into view to dodge one of them and she jumped up in the air, landing as she punched Mizuki in the stomach to make him stop moving and hit the ground. When he dropped, Sakura flipped back and landed on her feet next to Naruto, both protecting Iruka.

'_Naruto! Sakura!'_ Iruka thought in surprise.

"Not bad…for a little punk like you, Naruto. However, I assumed that Sakura could have done _much _better." Mizuki sneered as he got up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei," Naruto began. "I'll kill you!" He threatened. Sakura remained silent and contemplated all that she had heard this evening. Mizuki noticed this though her eyes and smirked.

"Such big words." He said to Naruto, still looking at the rose haired girl beside the blonde. "I can completely destroy you with a single move!"

"Take your best shot, fool." Naruto said, placing his hands in the sign for Kage Bunshin. "I'll give it back to you a thousand fold!" He promised dangerously. Sakura looked at him and narrowed her eyes in wonder.

"Lets see you try. Show me what you can do, nine tailed fox!" Mizuki dared with a mad look in his eyes.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Iruka and Mizuki both widened their eyes in shock, but Sakura remained looking at the original in contemplation of his move. Hundreds of Naruto were now swarming the forest, surrounding Mizuki in a wide circle with no places to escape from, since they were also in the trees to stop him jumping away.

'_Naruto…those aren't just illusions, those are solid clones!'_ Iruka thought in pride. _'He has mastered an extremely advanced jutsu.'_

"What?" Mizuki gasped as he stumbled around in the centre of a large circle the clones had made around him. Of the clones were yelling things like 'over here' or 'come on' and various other challenges to the white-haired, evil boaster. Mizuki fell to the ground.

"If you're not coming after _us_…" One of the clones started.

"…Then we're gonna come after _you_." Another finished. Mizuki almost lost control, but then he noticed that Sakura hadn't made a move to help either him or Naruto and Iruka.

"Sakura!" He called. It got her attention and she looked to him. Iruka, once proud and confident, was once again worried. If Mizuki could sway her, no number of Naruto clones could stop them since Sakura had mastered the same jutsu to a much higher level than him _and_ her normal power greatly outweighs the power of both him and Naruto together.

"What?" She asked back coldly.

"How about that scroll? Remember, I can help you fulfil your dream. Your life's ambition." He said convincingly. Sakura looked at him and pushed Naruto's clones out of her way until she was next to Mizuki. She smirked at Naruto and he and Iruka both gasped.

"Mizuki-san?" She called.

"Hm?" He questioned, confident in the control he had over the powerful kunoichi.

"You don't even know what my ambition is!" She yelled as she also preformed Kage Bunshin, not to the level Naruto had –or to her fullest- but still giving her thirty or so clones, and turned against the white-haired traitor with a hateful gleam in her eye. Who needs a demon when you look scary without?

Mizuki gasped as all of the Naruto clones and the original grinned and laughed while Sakura and her clones glared and smirked slightly. The white haired man, knowing he was beat, let out a frustrated and slightly fearful yell of defeat as both Sakura and Naruto unleashed their clones on him. Iruka smiled at their teamwork as one of Sakura's clones jumped onto one of Naruto's clones' hands and he flipped her back to kick Mizuki in the chest.

[--

When the beating was done, Mizuki lay on the ground with blood pooling from his mouth and nose. He groaned in pain but also relief that the clones had stopped hurting him. Sakura and Naruto both stood over his motionless, but living, body and the blonde grinned while the pinkette glared at their old, traitorous –and also now half dead- sensei.

"Sorry, I kinda got carried away." Naruto admitted. Sakura scoffed at the 'kinda' part and returned to her glaring. "You okay, Iruka-sensei?" He asked in concern. Sakura, stopping the glaring, also looked at the older man, although no emotions were present on her face. He looked at them both, standing side-by-side over their enemy like the perfect team with the wind blowing their clothes and hair forwards.

"Um…yeah." He told them in awe. _'They are amazing. Naruto wants to surpass all the Hokage and I'm starting to believe that he might just do it too. Then there is Sakura, she's just incredible. That deceit, even with her emotionless façade. No one has __**ever**__ been able to trick Mizuki before she came along.'_

"You were so _cool_ Sakura-chan! I mean, you were all like 'haha! I'm betraying you Naruto and Iruka', and then you were all 'Mizuki, you do not know my goal', and then he was all 'No! Luke, I am your father!' and then…no wait, wrong movie. But you were still _so _cool back there!" Naruto complimented his fighting partner, who seemed to ignore him. "Hey, Sakura-chan! What's the matter, huh?" Naruto asked her.

"Uzumaki Naruto." She said seriously. Naruto looked at the girl and waited for her to continue. "You are _annoying_, _stupid_, _ruthless_ and _don't_ even _think_ about your actions before you do something!" She scolded. Naruto looked as if he was about to cry and Iruka wondered why, after what just happened, she was saying that.

"Sakura-chan-?"

"_But_! For _whatever_ reason, I have temporarily gone _insane_. That's the _only_ thing I can think of as an excuse to _why_ I found some respect for _you _at _all_." She finished. Naruto grinned widely.

"You mean…we're friends now?" Naruto asked happily. Iruka smiled as he watched Sakura scoff and shake her head, even though it was obvious Naruto had grown on her.

"Don't go too far. I said you have a small fraction of my respect. That's no where near friendship. You have a _long_ way to go." She told him. Naruto groaned at that, but was internally happy for the small bit of respect he had earned from her. Iruka thought of something he could do to thank Naruto, but wasn't sure about Sakura.

"Naruto, come here a moment. I've got something I want to give you." He called. Naruto nodded.

"I'll be right back, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before dashing over to the wounded Jounin.

[--

"You're telling me no one can find Naruto?" A Jounin questioned another.

"Not a clue."

"This is bad news. We've got to smoke him out, or something."

"There is no longer any need to worry." The Hokage claimed as he approached the gossiping Jounin.

"Lord Hokage!" A few of the gasped as they turned to face him out of respect.

"The scroll's safe. Naruto will be back soon, along with Iruka and possibly that girl from his class, Haruno Sakura." He said with a warm smile on his senile face.

[--

"Sensei, how much longer?" Naruto asked as he kept his eyes closed, just as Iruka had requested him to do.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Iruka told him. Naruto did so and the first thing he saw was Iruka holding his goggles without the Hatei-ate around his forehead.

"Nice one, Uzumaki." Sakura said with a smirk and her arms crossed.

"Congratulations, you graduate." Iruka said to him happily. Naruto just looked at the older man in shock. "And to celebrate, I have another surprise for you. We're all going out for ramen tonight. Sakura, you can come too if you want, as a thank you for helping me and Naruto."

"No need to thank me. I am -according to Mizuki- a scornful child who will lash out at any given moment, after all." She spat angrily.

"Sakura, he was wrong." Iruka told her sternly. He saw, however, that she believed Mizuki over him.

"No, you're wrong. I know I'm full of hate." She sighed. "Sorry, but I can't come for ramen tonight. I got…things to do." The girl said mysteriously with a blank face. Naruto's lip began to quiver and Iruka looked at him in worry.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he tackled the man to the ground in a crushing hug.

"Ouch, that hurt." Iruka said, referring to his earlier injuries. They both laughed together and Sakura smiled –a genuine smile-, showing the first emotion she had in years. Her smile was little, but it soon faded as she set down the scroll for Iruka to take and jumped into the trees, leaving the two with a father/son bond alone. Unfortunately for Naruto and Iruka, the one who had been waiting to see her show emotion since he met her, they missed it.

'_Naruto, this is only the beginning. Now that you're a ninja, the road will only get tougher. But I suppose if I told you that, I guess it would ruin the moment. So I'll tell you later…over ramen of course.'_


	2. Konohamaru?

**Thank you list for reviewers:**

**Kaze no Tora (thanks for review)  
anon (thank you for the review)  
Gnosismaster (This story will have pairings voted on, so NaruSaku is a maybe)  
sakuragirl13579 (In episode 1, Mizuki _did_ tell Naruto about the fox and thanx for da know/knows thing :D)  
demons and angels (thanks for reviewing)  
Ice-Black Dragon (thanks :D)  
Krymsom (again, the pairings will be voted on)  
Silent Kunoichi aka. Fiona (Hehe, thanks for da review)  
rickp2006 (don't worry, all will be explained soon)  
Artemis411 (Thank you for your review)  
Charms (yes, Sakura will be in team seven with kaka and Sasu. As for liking them…wait and see ;D)**

**It is you peoples who I am writing this chapter for so...yeah :D**  


Chapter Two

Honourable Grandson or Konohamaru?

It was a normal day in Konohagakure. The monuments were clean, thanks to a certain blonde scrubbing them after he covered them in paint, and everyone was going about their daily business. Everyone; except the new graduates of the academy, of course. They were all having their pictures taken today for their passports and official ninja registration forms, which would enable them to leave the village on missions and such in the future.

Three Genin walked towards the Hokage building, where the pictures were getting taken on the roof due to good weather and clear skies. Two girls with odd hair colours and one blonde boy. They were walking together, since the pink haired girl and the blonde boy had formed an almost friendship the day before and the second girl, who had dark indigo hair, had never minded the blonde and was proud to call him a friend.

The moon-eyed Hyuuga heiress was wearing a big tan jacket with almost white fir around the bottom and two fur balls handing from two thin tan coloured ropes on the collar. Two Hyuuga symbols, one on her left shoulder and the other on her right, also decorated the jumper. She had her baby blue three quarter length trousers on as well with her blue ninja sandals and her Hatei-ate around her neck. Moon-coloured, lavender eyes were wide and innocent without pupils, but held the potential for one of the most sought-after bloodline limits in Konoha, the Byakugan. Her smooth and shiny, dark indigo hair -which was cut short, into a pixie cut of sorts, with a small flick at the back as well as two slightly longer bangs to frame the flawlessly pale skin on her face- was combed neatly and Sakura had gently tucked a small daffodil from the Yamanaka flower shop in her hair near her right ear to compliment her hair and porcelain skin.

Sakura, who was the second girl, was wearing her long, silky pink hair down and it fell to just above her knees. Her outfit was the same in design to her Hyuuga friend's, but the colours were different. She was wearing a big, blood-red jacket with white fir around the bottom and two fur balls handing from two thin black ropes on the collar. She had her dark grey three quarter length trousers on as well with black ninja sandals. Two white Haruno circles, one on her left shoulder and the other on her right, also decorated the jumper. Her Hatei-ate was around her neck, just like Hinata's, and a miniature, palm-sized kunai hung below it on a silver chain as a necklace pendant. She wore a black silk ribbon tied around her waist loosely and black nail polish adorned her fingernails. In her hair, in the same place she had put Hinata's, was another daffodil.

The girls and tried to convince Naruto to wear a flower, but he stubbornly refused, saying he didn't want to look a girl. That earned him a hit from Sakura, who said it would only mean he would be in touch with his feminine side. He responded by say that 'getting in touch with his feminine side' also meant looking like he was gay. This time he earned a frown from Hinata, who also agreed with Sakura about men being aloud to be feminine while remaining completely straight.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Uzumaki?" The pinkette, who had dressed in her new training clothes, asked the blonde, who had just told her his 'absolutely brilliant and completely foolproof' plan for the ninja photo when it was taken.

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura-chan! You and Hinata-chan can look as _boring_ as you want, but _I'm_ gonna be different! This is gonna be so cool! I'll be the first to do something like this! Believe it!" Naruto claimed.

"Oh, I believe it alright. I believe that you're a complete moron! And we do _not_ look boring! We look mature and sensible!" Sakura told him as she flicked his nose. Naruto grabbed the stinging place in the middle of his childishly handsome face and whined while Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Y-You two, please s-stop fighting." Hinata asked her friends softly, but they both managed to hear her. The two had learned to listen more carefully to hear Hinata and not have to ask her to repeat herself, even though Sakura was better at listening.

"We're not fighting." They said in union. "Shut up! You shut up! Don't tell me to shut up! I'll shut you up in a minuet! Quit copying me! Stop it! I'm warning you! I mean it! Stop!" The two continued immaturely.

Hinata smiled and giggled softly at the normal behaviour of her two only friends. All three of them had only two friends, the two they were with, but all for different reasons. Hinata, because she was shy and got bullied about it a lot. Naruto because everyone hated him; him and Sakura had found out that it was because of the Kyuubi inside him. Sakura had no other friends because she was powerful and cold to everyone –except Hinata and now Naruto as well- and everyone feared her for those two reasons alone, therefore avoiding her too. It wasn't fair, but that didn't really matter.

So that she knew everything and wasn't left out, Naruto had asked special permission from the Hokage to tell Hinata about the Kyuubi, since Sakura assured him that she would still like him and that Hinata could keep it a secret. Now that she knew, the three were closer than ever. Even though they had only formed the trio-friendship the day before, anyone passing them would say that they were practically a family, if it weren't for the fact they looked nothing like each other.

Naruto was the goofy, carefree member of the trio. He was the one who got everyone to let loose and speak their minds. The boy was also the one who helped Hinata in her quest to get Sakura to open up more, even though that mission was a failure so far. However, just because he acted like a kid all of the time didn't mean that he couldn't be serious. If someone hurt his special people –being Iruka, Sakura and Hinata-, then he wouldn't refrain from beating them to within an inch of their lives.

Hinata was the moon-eyed conscience of the group. If one of them did something wrong, just a glance from her innocent and child-like eyes would make them feel guilty about it. She was shy, that was for sure, but Naruto knew –from personal experience- that she could deliver one heck of a left hook when she needed to. Since she grew up with her father putting her down and her family expecting her to be the best, Hinata was rather nervous around people, but Naruto and Sakura were exceptions.

Sakura was the protecting soul of the team. Without her around, not only would the other two get picked on again, but -if she left for good- they wouldn't know what to do. It wasn't as if they relied on her completely, she was just the most responsible and grown up one of the group. People feared her, obviously, but Naruto and Hinata knew that the reasons for their fear were untrue. She wasn't cold; she just had a hard time showing emotion.

"W-We're here." Hinata told them. She no longer stuttered as much as usual around them when they were both with her, but would blush a lot around Naruto. If it was just Sakura, her stutter would stop all together, but the pinkette just said it made her look cute. Well, she didn't _actually _say that, but Hinata knew it was implied due to all the time she had spent with Sakura.

The two fighting Genin –aka Naruto and Sakura- nodded and they all walked inside the building together as they waited their turn in their respective chairs quietly. Well, Hinata and Sakura were quiet. Naruto ran around and yelled about the photographer taking too long. Sakura glared at the wall in front of her and then at the floor and Hinata grew worried about it. Normally, Sakura would just close her eyes, but she seemed to have grown colder to everyone –including the Hyuuga girl, but not so much that Hinata would cry or tremble in fear. Occasionally she would snap a truly nasty comment, but would apologise in her own way –like a guilty frown or fake smile- afterwards.

"Oi! We should promise to show each other the picture, even if it's really horrible and embarrassing!" Naruto declared.

"O-Okay then." Hinata agreed easily, always up for being nice and agreeing with her friends when she liked their ideas.

"Fine." Sakura huffed with a long sigh.

"Man, I can see someone I would rather avoid. He _always_ steals my ramen and won't give me a chip!" Naruto complained as he saw the Akimichi boy step thought he door with his photo in his left hand and a bag of chips in the other. Naruto stood and walked forwards a bit, only to be followed by Sakura –just in case he needed quick help- and Hinata –since she was shy and didn't want to be left behind on her own.

"Oi, Choji! Can I have a chip?" Naruto asked rudely. Choji glared and pulled the bag closer to him. Sakura, seeing this as a way to wind up Naruto, smirked.

"Say, Choji-san." She called to him. Choji looked shocked by the fact she even knew his name. "May Hinata-chan and I have a chip? We skipped breakfast and are quite hungry." Sakura concluded politely, even if she could just scare him into giving her one. Choji's cheeks went a tint of pink and he nodded, holding the bag out do she and Hinata could reach it. The two took a single chip out each and Choji snapped the bag back quickly so that Naruto couldn't get one. He then grunted towards Naruto and walked out.

"No fair! That's the millionth time I've asked and you two got one on your first!" Naruto complained. Sakura rolled her eyes and swallowed the thin food substance before talking.

"Naruto, he's scared to say no when _I_ ask." She confirmed, smirking when Naruto pouted. They all took sat back down and waited again.

"Next!" The photographer called. Naruto was about to jump up and go, but Sakura held him in his seat by his collar.

"Hinata, you can go. Naruto obviously hasn't learned manners or the traditional, 'ladies first' rule." Sakura scolded the pouting blonde. Hinata giggled and walked though the door and onto the roof, where the pictures were getting taken.

"Aww, but I can't wait any longer! Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined. Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I'm losing my patience with you, Uzumaki." She told him strictly. Naruto knew that when she used that tone she had really had enough, so he stopped complaining. Hinata's worry wasn't for nothing, as Sakura actually _had_ turned a bit colder around other people because the way Mizuki's words affected her. The two shared a sister-sister bond, and Hinata knew when something was wrong with the blush-haired girl.

Hinata opened the door softly, letting it creak slowly as she pushed it like it was made of glass. When the door was open at last, she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her gently. The Hyuuga girl smiled a little and held the photo of herself to the eagerly waiting blonde and the amused pinkette.

In the picture of her, she was smiling shyly into the camera on her passport and ninja papers. It was really cute and she even had her trade mark blush on, due to the fact someone was photographing her. Sakura nodded and got up to go and have her picture done, even thought she hated photos with a vengeance.

"Naruto, be nice to Hinata or I'll crush you." She warned, knowing Naruto wouldn't really be mean to Hinata. It was, however, funny to see his face with an expression of pure horror.

"N-Naruto-kun, I h-hope that your p-plan f-for the photo w-w-works out w-well." Hinata told him kindly. Naruto grinned and hugged her gently, knowing that she and Sakura -yeah even Sakura- were more fragile than Iruka and could be easily crushed by his power hug, not that Sakura would let him hug her.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan! I knew you would believe in me, even if Sakura-chan said it was a dumb idea!" Naruto said gleefully.

"A-Ano, Naruto-kun…Sakura-chan doesn't a-actually think y-your idea is as dumb as she s-says." Hinata confessed. "I-I have known her for j-just under two years, and she was just j-joking. However, with her l-lack of emotions, m-most can't tell the difference b-between when she's sad and even when she's laughing o-on the inside. I can though, a-and I should tell you that she thinks y-your idea is f-funny."

"Really, Hinata-chan? No joke?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.

"Y-Yes, really." Hinata confirmed. Naruto hugged her again and she squeaked cutely.

"Thanks for telling me, Hinata-chan. You rock!" Naruto stated as he released her and took his seat again.

The door opened with a loud slam as it hit the wall, causing several of the Genin to jump, and a shadowed figure stood in the door-way. Judging by the shape of the silhouette, Hinata and Naruto could tell it was their friend coming back from her photo. Sakura walked into the room, slammed the door behind her angrily and sighed, showing Naruto and Hinata her picture as she had promised.

Her face was blank, as always, but Naruto and Hinata could pick up on the traces of a smirk on his lips and in her eyes the way only her true friends could. She rolled her eyes and put the photo away, swearing never to take it out again unless she needed to. Predictably, Naruto and Hinata believed her, knowing that she would rather rip it up and threaten the photographer to _never_ tell anyone about it. But, alas, the photo was required for missions and assignments outside of the village and, if she didn't have it, they could even take away her Hatei-ate.

"You know what?" Sakura asked.

"W-What, Sakura-chan?" The Hyuuga heiress stuttered curiously.

"Yeah, what?" Naruto questioned crudely.

"Because of the daffodils, the photographer called me and you the daffodil maidens, Hinata-chan." She informed them with a smirk as she pointed to the small yellow flower in her hair. Hinata blushed at the name and smiled.

"Cool. You two _are_ really pretty. Believe it!" The blonde grinned.

[--

A few minuets passed before Naruto was called up for his photograph to be taken nest and he walked out onto the roof in his usual orange jumpsuit with the blue shoulders, neck and waist as well as the white, chin-high collar. It had the red swirl on the back and wooden symbol on his shoulder as always. His feet were covered with his blue ninja sandals and he didn't wear his Hatei-ate, for a reason only the three of them knew at the moment.

"Good luck; you'll need it." Sakura said, muttering the last part. Naruto grinned at them and walked into the room, activating his special 'my-ninja-photo-is-going-to-be-so-much-cooler-now' jutsu. Yes, he actually named it that.

[--

"Listen kid, are you sure you want me to take you're picture when you look like that?" The photographer asked, leaning on the camera slightly, as he looked at Naruto's jutsu.

"Just do it! Come on, already! Come on, come on!" Naruto ordered impatiently as always as he posed for the picture. The man sighed and got ready.

"Ugh, fine. But don't blame me later." He warned. "Say cheese!"

_Click._

Naruto grinned as he ran into the other room to show Hinata and Sakura his picture. Hinata gasped, turning pale as she pictured the look on the Hokage's face when he saw this, and Sakura just settled for shaking her head in embarrassment of knowing the idiot who invented that jutsu. Why did they react like that, you ask? The answer is simple and will be explained in the next paragraph.

His face was paler –actually white- and had red paint lining his eyes. The paint also made a symmetrical pattern on his face, where a line goes down his forehead, flicking out but continuing down, along the side of his nose, then across his cheek in a spiral. It then continues the line in an arc, not touching the mouth, and finishing under his bottom lip, were the two sides of his paint meet up with another line. His lips also had separate red paint around the corners and he had a red spiral on his palm, which he had in front of him while his left eye was closed and he was baring his gritted teeth.

Sakura took a look at the picture, then Naruto, who had undone the jutsu, then back to the picture, then Naruto, then the picture before sighing. She shook her head again and rolled her eyes, knowing what Naruto's reaction to her next statement would be.

"You do know that we have to show these to the Hokage after they're taken -meaning now- right?" Sakura asked him. Naruto's grin fell and he began to laugh nervously.

[--

The three Genin were sitting in chairs in front of the Hokage and his Jounin assistant. They had written out their profiles and -together with their pictures- the paper had their names, registration number, date of birth, age, birth sign and a box of personal information they could fill out titled 'profile'.

Hokages have to look though them and make a list of all of the ninja, but when he came to Naruto's he decided that he needed to have a chat with the orange-loving boy. However, it seemed impossible to try and convince Sakura or Hinata to leave him. It almost seemed as if she was protecting him in the same way she protected Hinata, who also didn't wish to leave Naruto alone. The third, who was constantly worrying over Naruto's safety, was glad to see he had made such caring friends.

Hyuuga Hinata's profile was the first on the pile and he observed it carefully as his assistant looked at Sakura's before he got the chance to.

_Name: Hyuuga Hinata_

_Registration number: 102605_

_Date of birth: December 27__th_

_Age: 12_

_Sign: CAPRICORN_

_Bloodline limit: Byakugan_

_Profile: I hang out with Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun. I enjoy training with them._

The assistant passed him Sakura's next while the man read over Naruto's –not without wincing when he saw the photo- and the third observed the young Haruno girl's.

_Name: Haruno Sakura_

_Registration number: 102606_

_Date of birth: March 28__th_

_Age: 12_

_Sign: ARIES_

_Bloodline limit: Classified_

_Profile: I help/hang out with Hinata-chan and Naruto. I train with them to get stronger._

He looked over Naruto's profile again as the three sat in front of him and his assistant and sighed. The written part was fine:

_Name: Uzumaki Naruto_

_Registration number: 102607_

_Date of birth: October 10__th_

_Age: 12_

_Sign: LIBRI_

_Bloodline limit: None_

_Profile: Hobby is to pull pranks. Favourite food is ramen, mostly miso. I hang out with Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan all the time._

…It was the picture which worried him.

"Ahahaha!" Naruto laughed nervously with his hand behind his head as the third looked at his registration form.

"Hmmm." The third said.

"At first, you, I couldn't figure out exactly how to do it. It took me like three hours to work it out and stuff, but –finally- I got it. An art project on my face, only cooler, haha." Naruto boasted. The third looked at him blankly.

"Take it again." He ordered. Sakura bit her bottom lip to refrain from laughing while Hinata giggled at the look of anguish on their blonde friend's face.

"Huh? No way!" He protested.

"We can't accept this photo." The Hokage told him bluntly. "You two ladies have fine photographs, but not you Naruto."

"Ha!" Sakura boasted, now holding the daffodil she had in her hair, while Hinata kept hers in.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not doing it again!" Naruto claimed. "Transform!" He called, making the hand signs. Sakura, who recognised the signs straight away, practically leapt out of her chair to cover Hinata's eyes and then closed her own.

The clouds around Naruto almost fully cleared, leaving him behind in his 'sexy no jutsu' form like yesterday with Iruka. Sakura, still with her eyes closed, growled softly while Hinata just sat their. She didn't know what was going on, but was confident that her friends would tell her later.

"Pretty please, lord Hokage?" Naruto asked in his girl form with a voice to match, Sakura scoffed, but kept her eyes closed.

The Hokage took one look at 'Naruko', which is the name Naruto gave to his female look, and he yelled as he fell back in his chair, stunned by what he had just seen and heard. Naruto transformed back and just stared at the Hokage, now knowing that he was a pervert amongst the rest.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked irritated.

"Oh! Sorry, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan. You two can look now." He told them, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Sakura walked passed him on the way to her own seat and hit him gently in the back of his head before noticing the Hokage on the floor.

"Um?" She asked, Hinata nodding in agreement with the 'question'.

"I used sexy no jutsu and he fell backwards." Naruto told them. The Hokage got up and wiped his nose, trying to regain his dignity.

[--

A small child approached the door and stood by it quietly, listening to the conversation though the cracks.

[--

"That's the sexy jutsu, you say? Very tricky. Much too trick; don't do it again." The Hokage ordered.

"I agree with Hokage-perv-sama." Sakura said, smirking.

Naruto chuckled nervously again, rubbing the back of his head.

"And where is your Hatei-ate? The girls are wearing theirs." The Hokage stated, gesturing to the village symbols around the daffodil maidens' necks. "You're supposed to be wearing it."

"Oh, I'm not putting it on until the orientation." Naruto stated, rubbing his goggles. "I don't wanna mess it up."

"So, you want your Hatei-ate nice, but you photo -which is supposed to identify you- makes you look like a clown. It's for ninja training and missions, which is the key to your future. Look at this picture; you can't even tell who it is." The Hokage scolded calmly.

"Well, fine. How am I supposed to know all of this complicated stuff anyway? Is there some sort of rule book for pictures?" Naruto asked.

"It's obvious, baka." Sakura told him.

[--

The boy by the door took out a shuriken and held it up for attack. Naruto, Sakura and the Hokage all look towards the door, the Hokage's assistant and Hinata doing so seconds later. The door opened quickly, revealing a small boy with his weapon poised for attack.

"Old man! I challenge you! I'm going to defeat you and become the fifth Hokage!" A young child, no older than eight years old, yelled as he ran into the room. He had a tooth missing in the front of his mouth and a tan cap over his head, leaving a hole for his brown hair to poke out of at the back near the top. He also wore a yellow t-shirt with the Konoha symbol on it in red and a pair of tan, knee-length shorts with his ninja sandals and a long blue scarf.

He charged at the Hokage, and the newly instated Genin watched as he ran a few feet before tripping over his own scarf. Naruto sighed as Sakura's eyes, amazingly, softened when the child started weeping on the floor softly. Hinata only just managed to stop herself form going to the child's aid, but she noticed Sakura's eyes and smiled.

'_My grandson…another headache.'_ The third thought as he adjusted his hat. Another man ran into the room, with black glasses like Shino's, a boy in their class, and his Hatei-ate on like a bandana. He noticed the fallen boy and gasped slightly.

"Grrrrr; something tripped me." The child complained. Sakura rolled her eyes at the boy's oblivious behaviour as Naruto sighed in annoyance, not knowing that he could be the same way.

"A-Are you okay, honourable grandson? And by the way, there's nothing here for you to trip on, it's pretty flat." The older man stated, adjusting his glasses.

'_Who is this shrimp?'_ Naruto thought.

'_Great, another annoying little weirdo.'_ Sakura groan mentally, knowing that this kid was a mini-Naruto already.

'_I hope that he is okay.'_ Hinata, being cursed with the ability to care for everyone, hoped.

'_It is that kid!'_ The man thought as he looked at Naruto. _'Hn. The nine tailed fox. Of course; he's the worst kind of troublemaker. That girl with him, the one with the pink hair, she is suspicious.'_

"Alright, you're the one who tripped me, aren't you?!" The little kid accused, pointing at Naruto, who growled in response. The blonde grabbed the kids scarf and held him up in the air, a fist ready to hit him.

"You tripped over your own feet, dork." Naruto told him. "And why did you automatically blame me? It could have been her!" He said, pointing to Hinata. "Well, maybe not her…but she could have done it!" This time he moved his finger in Sakura's direction.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow twitching.

"Don't blame a pretty girl for what you did!" The kid yelled. Sakura smirked.

"I think I like this kid." She admitted.

"Hey, you!" The man in the door yelled to Naruto. "Take your hands off of him right now. He's the honourable grandson of the honourable third Hokage." He said, gesturing to the Hokage.

"Hm?" Naruto asked, looking at the kid.

'_That stopped him. Just like all the rest. Ha! Now that he knows who I am, he won't dare lay a finger on me.'_ The kid thought, grinning.

"What's the matter, huh? I thought you were gonna hit me! Huh, tough guy? Afraid because the third Hokage is my grandfather?" The kid asked in a spoilt and confident voice.

"I don't care if he's your grand_mother_! So believe it!" Naruto yelled as he hit the kid over the head in the same way Sakura hits him.

'_This guy is different.'_ The kid thought as he hit the floor.

"This is not looking good." The Hokage muttered as the Jounin, the one assigned to look after and train the kid, freaked out.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. The kid looked up slightly, just to see if he should break out the water works. Obviously, this girl was going to stick up for him.

"What? You heard what he said!" Naruto complained, also think she was going to scold him.

"What are you talking about? I mean you just hit Hinata-chan when you swung your arm! Baka!" She hissed. Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to Hinata.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Hinata-chan!" He cried. She just smiled.

"I-It's okay. You o-only brushed my ch-cheek with your kn-knuckle, a-anyway. No h-harm done." Hinata assured them both, smiling about how much they cared about a little, non-painful nick on the cheek.

[--

"Listen carefully. You are the honourable grandson of the honourable third Hokage. You cannot let riff raff like this draw you into a fight, even though he deserves it." The Jounin scolded the boy. "You see, he's far beneath you; you mustn't stoop to his level. As your elite ninja trainer, I am never wrong, which means I'm always right. I'm far above the other trainers, so heed my every word. Your goal is to become the next Hokage and I can teach you the best way to do it. Indeed, due to my great skill, I can take you quickly and easily to the top, but you must always, always stay close to me. You understand me? Right honourable grandson?"

Throughout the long and boring speech, the kid and gotten very, _very_ bored. Therefore, when Mr Mean-Jounin-who-doesn't-like-Naruto looked towards the spot he was once taking, the kid was gone.

"Where'd he go now?!" The bandana wearer cried.

"I think he followed Naruto, but I have no idea where the boy and his companions are going." The Hokage stated calmly.

"He's with Naruto and those two ladies?!" He asked. "With the blonde, that's a disaster! Honourable grandson!" He yelled as he ran out of the building in search of the vessel and his friends, so he could also find his charge.

The Hokage sighed. _'How did he grow up to be like __**that**__? My grandson's quite determined; that was his twentieth sneak attack today, and if he starts running around with Naruto, he's sure to get even worse. Naruto wouldn't teach him anything __**really**__ bad, would he?'_

[--

"I'm telling you, Sakura-chan, I feel like we're being followed." Naruto whined to the girl as they walked down the street.

"I know we are, Naruto. Also, I know who it is, so you can just pretend its nothing, okay?" Sakura whispered to him as she noticed the small boy from the tower sneak behind another wall. Naruto narrowed his and turned around, only to have the kid pull a very bad disguise on at the last minuet to make him look like the ground, only his feet were still visible.

Naruto nodded and carried on following the two girls to their destination, now knowing why Sakura said to pretend its nothing. The reason? It _is_ nothing. Nothing important, anyway. The kid continued to follow them and, despite Sakura's words, Naruto was annoyed. He turned and the kid tried to make it look like he was part of the fence.

"I know you're following us, so just give it up." Naruto demanded, pointing a finger at the badly disguised boy. He didn't move. "That's so obvious its pathetic." He said. The kid started laughing and he lowered the 'brilliant disguise'.

"Saw though me disguise, huh? The rumours about you are true; you're good." The kid complimented. "Alright, I'll be your apprentice and you'll be my trainer!" He declared.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, not really knowing what was going on. Sakura rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'boys' and Hinata giggle at her words.

"And afterwards, you've gotta show me how to do that sexy jutsu thing you did on grandpa Hokage." He said.

"This is some kinda joke, isn't it?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms. "Ask Sakura-chan…she's stronger." He added reluctantly.

"No way, Naruto!" Sakura said quickly. "He asked you!"

"Can't you just…go away?" Naruto asked the kid.

"No! I need a new trainer! Please, boss?" He begged.

"Huh? Boss?" Naruto asked, becoming interested.

"Yea! You're the boss! Boss, boss, boss!" The kid declared.

"Well, how can I refuse?" The blonde asked, rubbing the back of his head.

[--

"Listen, you wanna be a master ninja, then believe it! You need to learn to control your catra." Naruto lecture. Sakura and Hinata had left soon after Naruto accepted, saying it would be better to leave boys to be boys.

"Catra?" The kid echoed. "A cat?" He wondered as he mentally envisioned a mewing cat.

"I said, your catra." Naruto corrected.

"Boss, I think your talking about chakra." The kid corrected.

"Don't question me!" Naruto said, feeling pretty dumb. "Really ninjas say _catra_." He lied quickly.

"Really? I didn't know that! That's cool!" He announced.

'_Hm.' _Naruto thought. _'He believes anything I say. It's a good thing Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan aren't here to correct me.'_

"Listen, I'll explain what charka is." Naruto told him.

"Chakra is the elemental life energy that is used to perform jutsu!" The kid recited.

"Wha-?" Naruto asked in wonder.

"The ninja arts combine physical energy from each cell in the body with mystical energy which is intensified though training and experience. When these two chakra mix, special hand signs allow the ninja to focus this combined energy for advanced jutsu." He concluded, reading a scroll.

"Know-it-all! You were just reading that whole thing!" Naruto accused.

"Or he could just be smarter than you, Naruto." Sakura, who was shopping with Hinata nearby and hear his yelling, proclaimed smirking.

"Sakura-chan! You're meant to be _my_ friend!" Naruto whined like a five-ear-old.

"I'm not your friend, Uzumaki. I'm just someone to hangs out with and/or chooses to protect you sometimes. Hinata is my only friend." Sakura reminded him.

"Aw, so mean, Sakura-chan!" He cried quietly, but loud enough for the girls to hear.

"Pff, whatever." Sakura said as she walked off with Hinata, who was giggling over the antics of her friend and her friend/crush. Naruto, not noticing their exit from the scene he was creating, carried on babbling.

"I mean, you said I earned some of your respect yesterday, but you still don't like me! It's not fair and I-"

"Boss? The two girls are already gone." The kid told him, tugging on his trousers. Naruto looked to where Sakura and Hinata were, only to notice that they had moved to a stall which sold jewellery.

"Heh, girls like stuff like that." Naruto said, pulling the kid away again, knowing that Hinata and Sakura would rather continue with their shopping spree than go with them.

[--

"Anyway, as I was saying before. Yo, you can blab all you want about how to do ninja techniques, but it really comes down to one thing." Naruto continued his lecture when they were further down the road.

"What is it?" The kid asked, fully into the speech.

"Just plain hard work and guts. Believe it!" Naruto concluded.

"That's two things, but okay, I'm with you." He corrected enthusiastically.

"Alright, I'm going to throw some really big challenges at you now. Are you ready?" Naruto asked.

"I'm ready, boss!" He declared, clenching his fists in excitement.

"Good." Naruto began. "Good, now let's do it. Show me a transformation."

"Heh?" The kid asked in puzzlement, not really so excited any more.

"Believe it! Just show me what you can do and I'll take you to the next level." The blonde promised.

"Alright, sure, but um…what do I transform into?" He asked.

"Ah! Hm…" Naruto said, looking around. "There! Yeah right, you can transform into her." He said, pointing to a beautiful brunette woman with her hair in a ponytail, dark blue eyes and dressed in a simple blue kimono.

"No problem! Here I go boss." He stated as the kid began to concentrate his chakra into a Henge jutsu. "Henge no jutsu!" He yelled, placing his hands together with the correct hand sign.

A cloud covered him and when it cleared he stood there with the same style of clothes and hair as the woman, but 'she' was fat, short, had a crushed looking face with big lips, a uni-brow, a small beard and narrow fish eyes.

"Well, do I look like her?" He asked in a deeper voice.

"Uh…the clothes…kinda look like her." Naruto told him with a completely unimpressed and slightly freaked out look on his face.

"That looks like me?!" The woman asked angrily from behind Naruto. She hit him hard over the head and turned to the kid and smiled. "Now, now, honourable grandson, next time you transform into me, make me a little cuter, okay? Ta!" She said nicely before rushing off with a smile on her face.

"She's scary." The kid stated, looking at her as she left.

"You did it. Why am I the one who gets whacked around?" Naruto asked pitifully as he lay on the ground with bruised and a swollen face.

[--

"Alright, next we do some research on female beauty." Naruto claimed, now standing with the kid outside a books and magazines shop.

"Female beauty, right boss!" The kid stated happily. They snuck inside quietly and crept passed the sleeping clerk to a bikini and beach-wear model magazine. As they looked though it, the two laughed quietly to each other, stopping on a few good pictures. The clerk, who had woken up, was standing behind them with a duster.

"This is not a library,_ Naruto!_" He told the blonde evilly. Naruto and the kid froze in place with the magazine still held between them. They turned guiltily and saw the evil look on the clerk's face and gulped.

[--

"Slight, minor set back, haha." Naruto chuckled, now outside a building were ninja changed their clothes or took showers sometimes with the little kid who kept being called 'Honourable grandson'.

"Yeah, minor." The brunette muttered.

"Now, this is the last stop, so give it everything you've got, okay?" He confirmed, turning to the kid. There, on his right eye, was a big blue bruise.

"Everything! Right boss!" The kid nodded.

"Henge no jutsu!" They called in union. Naruto was now in his sexy no jutsu form, but he had his usual jumpsuit on, and the kid was in the form he used when he had tried to copy the woman from earlier, this time in his own clothes too. They nodded at each other and entered.

Not five seconds after they entered, all you could hear were girls yelling and screaming.

"Naruto and you kid! Stay out of the girl's locker room!" A girl yelled at them.

"Get out!"

"You freak!"

"Pervert!"

[--

Naruto and the kid were now in a clearing in the forest. The former was covered in bruises, red marks, bumps and lumps from where the girls had hit/slapped/punched him all over and his clothing was slightly torn from the kunai and shurikens they threw at him to get him out. The latter, however, was perfectly fine and free from even the smallest scratch.

Sakura and Hinata, who were both in the changing room at the time and had to be the ones to drag them out, were now sitting in the clearing with them. Sakura kept glaring at the boys, but Hinata just frowned and sighed at their stupidity, Naruto should have known better than to do that when he had female friends who used that facility.

The clearing had one log for sitting and a drinks machine for when they got thirsty, since it was a training ground for academy students and young Genin who would need to stop and have a drink every now and again. As they weren't taking part in the 'training', Sakura had bought Hinata and herself a drink and they were sat on the log.

"Baka." Sakura muttered, taking a sip of her drink as Hinata put a final bandage over the last of the bleeding wounds. The pinkette could have helped, but she was too angry and Naruto was worried that she might hurt him further. There was that, but the blonde knew that this was nothing compared to her true anger.

"Why…do they only whack me?" Naruto asked himself sadly.

"Sorry." The kid said.

"Huh?" Naruto questioned, looking down at him.

"It's because I'm the grandson of a Hokage." He stated with a frown.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Naruto assured him with a small smile.

"Huh?" The kid enquired, taking his turn to be confused.

"I prepared you, so now you're ready to learn the sexy jutsu." Naruto said completely calmly. "Believe it! You're just gonna need to practice." He finished with thumbs-up and another smile. The kid stared at him for a moment before braking out in a smile.

"Practice! Alright boss!" He promised.

"Now the trick is to get all the curves in the right places."

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, not believing that he was actually going to teach the kid. She got up to leave, also ready to take Hinata with her, but Naruto's plea stopped her.

"You can't leave, Sakura-chan. You and Hinata-chan are like our inspiration of feminine beauty!" Naruto whined. Sakura growled, but stayed put to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Hinata just blushed.

"All right! We get the pretty girls for inspiration!" The kid cheered.

"Yep! You ready?" Naruto asked, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"I'm ready, boss!" He claimed happily. "Henge!" The kid called, putting his hands together in the seal.

Smoke in the clear dispersed, leaving the kid looking like a fat woman in pink underwear with spike brown hair, making her look like a female human hedgehog.

"What do you think?"

"No go!" Naruto booed, observing the form for less than a second. "You've got to make her skinnier." He told him. Sakura rolled her eyes, but was inwardly glad the kid had _some_ form of clothing on when e did the jutsu.

"Skinnier! Right boss!" He said, trying again. "How's that?"

"No, no, curvier!"

"Curvier, right boss! How's this?"

"Argh!"

"Baka-Naruto."

"Ahhhhhhhhh! Don't hit me, Sakura-chan!"

[--

"Naruto!" The Jounin growled as he kept looking over Konoha from the Hokage faces for Naruto and his female companions, hoping that his charge would be with them, but hoping the exact opposite at the same time. _'What has he done with the honourable grandson? Hmmm, what's his evil plan? Where did they go? I am a Jounin, the highest ninja level, and I'm an elite trainer of future Hokage. Any parasite that leaches onto my student…will be squashed.'_ He promised mentally before leaping off of the monument.

[--

Back in the forest with Naruto, the two girls and the kid, they had decided to take a break and were now sitting on the log near the edge of the clearing with the girls, drinking their own sodas. Sakura and Hinata had finished their own earlier, so Sakura had bought both a new one. Of course, Hinata complained and said that she could buy her own, but Sakura just shrugged and paid anyway.

"So, what's up with this obsession you've got with your grandfather?" The blonde asked curiously. Honourable grandson took a sip of his soda and looked down with sad eyes.

"My grandfather named me Konohamaru, after the ancient name of the village. So it should be easy to remember." Konohamaru, as the three now knew him, paused. "But no one calls me that name, not one person in the whole village. That's because, when they look at me, they don't really see me. All they see is '_the honourable grandson of the lord Hokage'_. No one knows who _I_ am. I can't stand it anymore' it's like I'm invisible. Like I don't exist. I hate that. That's the reason…I've got to become a Hokage _now_, so people know who I am!" He finished confidently. Naruto looked down at his soda as Sakura and Hinata just listened to the boys.

"Get real!" Naruto said. "You think people are gonna accept a squirt like you?"

"Eh?" Konohamaru asked in stunned confusion.

"A kid can't just turn into a Hokage after a day or two." He elaborated.

"What?!" The squirt questioned angrily, standing from his seat. Hinata was about to intervene, but Sakura silenced her.

"Let them work it out." She whispered to the confused Hyuuga heiress, who nodded in return, trusting her friend's instincts.

"It's not that simple. You keep saying _Hokage_, _Hokage_! To really be a Hokage, you know what you'll have to do?" Naruto asked him.

"What? What is it?" Konohamaru asked. Naruto grinned and looked the kid square in the face.

"You're gonna have to defeat me in battle!" Naruto proclaimed confidently. Konohamaru looked more than a little put off by the idea of fighting and trying to beat his new 'boss'. Sakura, who thought that Naruto was going to say something intelligent or worth while, rolled her emerald eyes.

[--

The third Hokage stood on the roof of his tower, looking at the face of the Yondaime Hokage in the monument.

"Lord Hokage!" Iruka called as he appeared behind the older man. "I've been looking for you."

"For what purpose?" Sarutobi questioned.

"It's about Naruto." The teacher said and he walked forwards. "Did he re-submit his ninja ID photo?"

"Hm." The Hokage grunted. Iruka smiled.

"You know, I gave him a lecture the other night, at the ramen shop, but he's still beaming because he became a Genin, a ninja trainee." Iruka stated, bemused by his blonde ex-student. "He thinks that it'll change things. That people will stop looking down on him now."

The third didn't respond right away, but carried on observing the face of the Yondaime Hokage, the one who died sealing the Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox demon, inside Naruto when he was first born.

"I fear his dream may not come true." Sarutobi confessed. "People don't change that easily."

"Huh?" Iruka questioned, looking up that the Hokage, who was still a ways in front of him with his back turned to the younger man.

"The nine tailed fox is within him. Not everyone knows that, of course, only those who fought the beast twelve years ago know the truth. I decreed that no one could speak about this. Even those who whispered it were punished severely. So the children of today know nothing about Naruto's connection to the beast that ravaged out village and nearly destroyed us all." The Hokage stared. "As long as the children are unaware of this, Naruto has some hope of being accepted. That was the wish of the fourth Hokage. Before he sacrificed himself to save us, he asked that when Naruto grew up, he should be regarded as a hero."

"A hero?" Iruka echoed questioningly. Sarutobi nodded solemnly.

"The fourth Hokage defeated the fox by sealing its spirit in a new born baby whose umbilical cord had just been cut. By containing the fox spirit within his tiny body, Naruto saved the village. That's why he's a hero." He said to the younger man. "Unfortunately; many of the villagers don't understand this. People are driven by fear. Many think the beast could take over Naruto's body. Some think he _is_ the beast now, and their children feel their fear and hatred. And they soon turn against Naruto as well. You know what the ancients said about such things, Iruka?"

"What's that, sir?" He asked.

"When the people reject someone's very existence and look at that person, their eyes become cold. Cold as an ice storm in the deepest winter." The third stated with a shake of his wrinkly head.

"But sir-"

"You were kind to Naruto, but he needed more than one teacher from his school to help him." He began. "That is why I am half glad about what Mizuki did yesterday night. He told Naruto of the beast, and that Haruno girl heard every last word. She then showed him the not all people will reject him because of the beast inside him by accepting him into her, usually anti-social, life. Also, by convincing him to tell the Hyuuga heiress his secret as well, he now knows that he is not alone in this world any longer."

[--

The elite Jounin jumped though the tree, tracing the chakra left by the four under-teens, but mostly Konohamaru and Naruto's, since the girls were smart enough to realise they could be found and hid most of their chakra when they made it to the clearing. He landed on a branch behind the log the four were sitting on.

"I found you." He stated menacingly. The four looked around and saw the older and higher ranked man crouching on a branch.

"Huh?" Naruto and Konohamaru asked in union.

'_Hmph; the nine tailed fox.'_ Jounin-mean-guy thought as he looked at Naruto in hatred.

'_That icy stare. They all look at me that way._' Naruto acknowledged as he stood up.

"So, honourable grandson, time to go home." Mean-Jounin-person, or so he was christened by Naruto and Sakura, stated calmly.

"No way! I'm learning how to beat my grandfather so I can get the title; Hokage! Now don't get in my way!" He yelled back. Both Sakura and Hinata, although the latter was worried about doing it, moved closer to Konohamaru to stop this man from taking him without the kid's consent or permission. Sakura, being the cold and meanest on, gave the mean guy the coldest glare she could muster. He shuddered slightly.

"A Hokage is more than just a fighter." He said, walking closer to the four and getting a colder glare from Sakura. "He must know virtue, honour, wisdom and he must be skilled at a thousand jutsu. You don't even know _one_ jutsu."

"Grrrr, Henge!" Konohamaru yelled. Sakura covered Hinata's eyes and closing her own, knowing the jutsu he was going to use.

The clouds cleared and he looked just like Naruto did in his sexy-no-jutsu form. Minor differences were that he had brown hair and it was down, as well as coal coloured eyes. However, he was naked and his modesty was covered by clouds. His hands were behind his head and he had his right eye closed in a wink.

"Hi there." He said in a female voice. "Do you like my jutsu?"

The 'skilled and masterful' Jounin took one look before his eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped as he yelled. Konohamaru changed back and looked at the man in disappointment.

"Hey, he's not defeated." He complained. Sakura opened one of her eyes slightly and then opened the other while uncovering Hinata's eyes.

"What-what-what kind of scandalous technique is that?! Such tasteless vulgarity can never influence me. I'm far above it. Not only that, but you preformed such a crude jutsu in the presence of two ladies! How tacky and rude can you be?" The man screamed, breaking from his stated of shock.

Naruto, who was watching the whole scene unfold, growled. The Jounin was now pulling on Konohamaru's scarf, trying to take him back to the village, while Hinata was stuttering at him to let the child go and Sakura growling and trying to pry his hands away without hurting Konohamaru.

"Honourable grandson, stop this right now! Naruto's turning you into a delinquent! Only my _special training_ can put you on the fast track to becoming a Hokage!" He gasped, fighting against Sakura's sharply nailed hands and Konohamaru's struggling while trying not to lose his focus to Hinata's soft voice.

"Just leave me alone!" Konohamaru ordered.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Around forty or fifty clone of himself appeared and Sakura groaned, getting a vague idea of what he was going to do. She left go of the Jounin's hands, since he was frozen in place with confusion, and jumped over to Hinata, ready to cover the shy girl's eyes again.

"Whoa! This is unreal!" Konohamaru yelled in amazement as he wriggled out of the Jounin's grasp and stood on his own.

"Hm. I'm not impressed. I'm a Jounin, an elite ninja warrior. I'm not some lightweight like Mizuki. Watch how a real ninja defeats an upstart." He stated, taking a few bold steps forward.

[--

The Hokage watched the whole scene though his crystal ball, using his tracking jutsu.

[--

Bad-Jounin-I'm-so-great guy stopped and observed the clones as Sakura sighed again and shook her head. Now she was positive that Naruto was going to do what she expected and was _not_ looking forward to the time he called out his jutsu.

"Come on, boss." Konohamaru prayed out loud. Sakura looked down at him and then to Naruto and her eyes softened as she smirked, knowing that Naruto could and would win this. The clones all poised themselves to fight, as did the Jounin-mean-guy.

"Ready." The older man stated confidently.

"Henge no jutsu!" Naruto said.

"Henge no jutsu!" His clones echoed, all of the copying the original's hand signs. Sakura sighed and covered Hinata's eyes while closing her own. The heiress, getting used to this and what it meant, sighed and closed her own eyes, telling Sakura she now knew what to do. Sakura shrugged, although her friend couldn't see, and removed her hand.

Smoke covered the area and dispersed, leaving every one of Naruto's clones in sexy jutsu form, all giggling, smiling and winking at the Jounin present. They jumped at him and held onto his arms, legs and torso and he began to freak out. He flew back and landed on the ground, twitching his eyes and letting his jaw hand wide open. Naruto released both the Henge and the clone jutsu and stood as one blonde boy in the clearing.

"Gotcha with my harem jutsu." Naruto stated.

[--

'_He's combined shadow cloning with his own invention, the Henge sexy no jutsu. What a foolish ninja technique…and he could probably get me with it too.'_ The Hokage groaned mentally as he watched the scene.

[--

"Oh man! I couldn't even beat that snobby trainer of mine! I wanna be Hokage so back, but I keep messing up. Why can't I so it?" Konohamaru whined back in the forest clearing with his new boss and the two girls.

"You really think it's that easy?" Naruto questioned him.

"Huh?" The kid asked.

"To be a Hokage, you have to be the greatest of all ninjas. You have to prove yourself so everyone believes in you. Look at me. I've been though a lot already. I've been ignored, pushed away and treated like I have the plague or something, and after all that, I found three people who believe in me. One of whom I don't think even _likes_ me." Sakura knew who Naruto was talking about and she frowned. "To find those people, I had to get knocked down a lot and put down even more. So you better make sure that you're ready." Naruto lectured.

"For what?" Konohamaru enquired in a small voice. Naruto turned his back on the kid and his two female friends before answering.

"For lots of sweat…and tears, while you're learning to be a ninja." He declared. Naruto grinned and turned around to face them again. "Hehe, by the way, there is no easy way to becoming Hokage. Believe it."

Konohamaru just stared at him as he remembered his earlier words.

"_If you really wanna be a Hokage, you're gonna have to defeat me in battle!" Naruto proclaimed confidently._

"Ha! Who do you think you are anyway, giving me a lecture like that?" He asked, turning his back on the blonde. "That's it; I'm not going to be your apprentice any more. From now on…we're rivals. Hehe." He concluded with a grin and a laugh. Naruto grinned too.

"Well I can't be your trainer anyway; because tomorrow, I start my advanced ninja studies. But I accept your challenge, and someday, we'll fight for the title of Lord Hokage." Naruto proclaimed.

"G-Good luck, Konohamaru-san." Hinata said from behind him. He stared at her, having someone actually call him by his birth name rather than '_honourable grandson of the honourable third Hokage_'.

"Oi, Konohamaru?" Sakura called from behind him as she walked to stand next to Naruto.

"H-Huh?" The kid asked. Sakura smirked and tilted her head to the right slightly.

"You'll also have to prove your worth to me. After all, even if you _do_ become Hokage, I'm not obeying some little runt who isn't worth the title, you got that?" She asked. Konohamaru nodded dumbly at her and she turned to Naruto and nodded.

"So let's all, all three of us, look forward to that day, Konohamaru." The blonde stated with a grin.

With those words, Naruto turned and walked away, raising a hand over his head as a farewell without turning to face the smaller child behind him as he did so. Sakura then smirked at him again and turned, also walking away. Hinata ran up to them and walked silently beside Sakura, who was in the centre of their trio. Konohamaru watched the backs of his new rival and the pink-haired powerhouse in awe, before he stood to attention and saluted them while they walked away.

[--

The third watched the scene and smiled to himself as he observed Naruto and Sakura. _'At last. He has finally started down the path…to becoming a true ninja. And she, who is still so full of vengeance and hate, will be able to let go and become truly loyal to the village hidden in the leaves.'_


	3. Uchiha Sasuke

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**Extra thanks to: Gnosismaster - sakuragirl13579 - Krymsom - rickp2006 - for reviewing on both chapter 1 and 2 :D**

**Enjoy the chapter **  


Chapter Three

Uchiha Sasuke: Friend or foe?

Uzumaki Naruto woke up, yawning and stretching out his limbs, in his blue pyjamas and black night cap, with a white cloth hem around the edge and a white bobble on the end, along with a pair of white eyes and a black nose, to cover his blonde spikes.

His room had pale green walls, half of which were brown wooden planks, and a clean, wooden floor. Above his bed he had hung a crème coloured banner with the village symbol in the centre of it. Another poster was next to the window with a picture of a ramen bowl on it. His bed, which had a white pillow, white comforter and brown, wooden headboard with sunny yellow sheets, was next to his window. Beside the bed was a cupboard with a white clock on it.

He removed the sun-shaded blanket from over his les and stood up from his bed. As he got up, he pulled off the cap and tossed it lazily on the unmade bed, walking out of his bedroom tiredly. He rubbed the back of his head and groaned slightly, before taking a look at his calendar. It showed the date as the 15th of that month.

"Huh?" Naruto questioned as he looked at it. "Hehehehehe!"

[--

Naruto when it his kitchen, filled the kettle, plugged it into the wall and turned it on to boil as he took a pot of instant ramen out of one of his cupboards. He took the ramen and placed it on the table next to a carton of milk and, when his kettle was boiled, placed that next to it. Searching his draws, he found his chopsticks and sat down.

The boy then peeled back the lip of the instant ramen cup and poured boiling water into it, sighing as he had to wait three minuets before eating it. He waited and waited, checking the clock on the wall every few second, and finally the three minuets was up. Grinning, he picked up his chopsticks.

"Today's the day, so let's chow down!" He said before digging the chopsticks into the hot ramen and swirling them around a bit. When he was satisfied that he had a good hold on enough of the ramen, he raised the chopsticks out of the cup and placed them in his mouth, slurping the noodles up with them. Chewing the noodles, he swallowed and let out a content sigh.

After swallowing his first mouthful of ramen, the blonde picked up the carton of milk and began drinking the content in gulps. Taking the chopsticks up in his hand again, Naruto practically inhaled the rest of his ramen and drank the remainder of the milk.

He got up from the table, leaving the leftover containers of the milk and ramen there, and walked into the bathroom. Naruto took a shower, which had now had every day when he could manage because Sakura told him that he smelled like gone-off milk when he didn't. After washing his body and shampooing and rinsing his golden spikes, he stepped out of the shower and dried him self off.

Throwing the towel onto the floor, Naruto pulled on some boxers and looked in the mirror at his face. He picked up his toothbrush and squirted the toothpaste out onto it before brushing his teeth a few times, rinsing out his mouth and washing his face. When that was down, Naruto walked back into his room and grabbed his orange, ankle-length trousers, pulling them on, soon followed by his black shirt and orange jacket.

Just before he left the house, he checked himself in the mirror in his hall, pulling his collar a few times to loosen it up and strapping on his regular headgear, also known as his goggles. He was about to leave, when the blonde noticed the Hatei-ate still lying on the table by the mirror, glinting as the sun hit the metal plate baring his village symbol.

Picking up the Hatei-ate, Naruto stared at it in wonder for a while before remembering when he graduate. Grinning as he did so, Naruto removed the goggles and tied his Hatei-ate around his forehead in their place, looking like the ninja he always wanted to be as a child.

[--

Naruto walked down the street, coming up on a lane with fencing across one side and houses across the other. He wondered what Sakura and Hinata were doing, before realising that they were probably already at the academy, like the two always were this early in the morning. The boy grinned as he remembered the ramen 'date' he had with both of them.

[--

"_Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan! Wait up!" Naruto yelled as he ran up the road towards the two girls he had formed a bond with._

"_W-What is it N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked him._

"_I was wondering if you wanted to get some ramen with me!" He pronounced to the lovely ladies, praying with all his might that he wouldn't have to go alone today, just like he had for dinner the night before._

"_S-Sure, Naruto-k-kun." The moon-eyed shy girl said, nodding and blushing as she did so. Naruto hugged her briefly in joy and turned to Sakura, who remained as she was with her arms crossed over her chest._

"_I…I don't know…" She trailed off, looking anywhere but at Hinata and Naruto, who were both pulling the puppy dog faces they always used on her. It didn't usually work, but when she had no excuse or good enough reason not to, it worked like a charm._

"_Please, Sakura-chan?" They begging in union. Sakura let her eyes wander to the two, who hadn't dropped the puppy faces, and sighed._

"_I am __**so**__going to regret this." Sakura stated. Naruto knew, thanks to Hinata pointing things out to him about Sakura's speech and actions, that she meant yes by this statement. He jumped up to hug her, but then remembered that she avoided contact as much as possible and stopped himself._

"_Come on, girls, it's ramen time!" Naruto yelled, taking both by the hand and dragging them along to the ramen shop. Sakura, not in the mood for fighting at that precise moment, just gave in and let him drag her along the street._

_They arrived at the bar and took the three seats closest to the right hand side of the bar, with Hinata by the wall, Naruto in the centre and Sakura next to the empty seat. They always sat like that when they had lunch at the bar, but for no particular reason._

"_Miso, old man!" Naruto yelled impolitely. Sakura just rolled her eyes at his behaviour._

"_C-Could I h-have chicken, p-please?" Hinata asked with far greater manners than her blonde crush._

"_Beef, please." Sakura requested. When around Naruto, Hinata -or people she accepts-, Sakura speaks freely, but never openly. If someone other than them is around -even if they're there too- she restricts her words to the bare minimum._

_Each eating their respective flavour of ramen, none of the three took any notice of two boys from the previous years' graduating class –making them a year older than Naruto, Hinata and Sakura- approach them and look at Naruto -who __**was**__ sitting in between two beautiful girls- in awe and question._

"_Oi!" One of them yelled to the blonde._

"_Hm?" Naruto asked, gulping down the ramen which he was just inhaling._

"_Are __**both**__ of these girls on a date with you?" The second asked. Sakura's eyes widened and she dropped her chopsticks while Hinata choked on her ramen and turned pink. Naruto, however, blushed bright red._

"_W-Well, n-not really. They're my friends, ya know?" Naruto informed them, knowing Sakura would have hit head if he said yes. The boys shrugged and walked off, their eyes lingering on Sakura and Hinata until the girls were out of their sight._

[--

Naruto sighed as he grinned, wishing that it was true. He would give anything for a date with Sakura, and Hinata was really pretty too, in her own way. Of course, they only thought of him as a friend. Sakura, in fact, didn't even see him as _that_ much. He sighed, and carried on walking though the lane.

Just ahead of him was a lump in the fence. Another bad disguise planned and carried out by Konohamaru, the thirds 'honourable' grandson. Naruto, too caught up in his thoughts of Sakura and Hinata and dates and ramen, didn't notice the 'brilliant disguise' and almost walked passed it entirely.

"You're mine, Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled as he dropped the blanket, patterned to look like a fence, and stepped forwards. He did, however, fail in running near Naruto as he stepped on the sheet, at the same time as he was pulling it up, and tripped on his face.

"Uh, what do you think you're doing, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked the smaller boy in question.

"That was a slick move." The brunette mumbled into the ground. "That's why I respect you as a rival." He told Naruto as he got up and looked at his self-proclaimed rival.

"…But I didn't do anything." Naruto said in return.

"Alright, now fight me fair and square." Konohamaru ordered, getting up and placing his hands together to draw on his chakra.

"Sorry, I've got an orientation." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head, not really worried about the kid.

"Orientation?" Konohamaru echoed, his eyes widening and his stance letting up until it was gone.

"That's right. As of today, I'm a ninja. Just like Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan are too. Believe it." Naruto stated happily, pointing at his Hatei-ate. The kid looked at it in awe as Naruto laughed slightly.

[--

Sakura stood in her room, looking in the mirror as she brushed her knee-length pink locks and attached her Hatei-ate around her neck, the same place as it had been put for her photo. Her clothing -the same style of training outfit she wore to have her photo taken as well- was already on her and her room was clean and tidy. Other than her ribbon, gloves and shoes, she was fully dressed and ready for the orientation that day.

She opened her eyes and observed the scene in front of her, also called her reflection, without an emotion present on her face. Sighing, Sakura pressed her fingers against the face looking back at her and traced her mirrored features sadly. She had lost almost all of her emotions the day she was born, not even crying when most children would.

Glaring at the face in her mirror, Sakura realised her fist and let it crash into the reflective glass, smashing it to pieces in the process and cutting up the skin on her fist. She looked at the blood and scowled, walking over to her wardrobe and taking out a pack of bandages. Gritting her teeth, she pulled out pieces of glass from her knuckles and wrapped the white cloth around her knuckles as she sighed. It wasn't as if she _liked_ doing things like that. However, Mizuki was right. She was a child filled with hate and scorn. The only thing he was incorrect about was that she lashed out at herself rather than others. It stopped the fights she used to have as a child though.

'_**Cha! It doesn't hurt or anything!'**_ Her inner self declared loudly in her mind. That part of her was the emotions. When she refused to show them, inner Sakura formed to hold onto them and boast every feeling in her thoughts on a regular basis. At first, Sakura thought it could be useful to have an inner, but it was really just annoying.

The girl pulled on her gloves, making sure that the one on her left covered the bandage completely, and tied her ribbon around her wrist. After that, she walked out of her room, into the hall and sauntered down the narrow stairs. Empty. Just like her concept of emotions and feelings, this house was completely void of life. She had never thought of her mother and father as her parents after what happened and had no siblings to speak of.

Her pink hair blew out behind her as she opened the front door and took in a large breath of fresh air. She walked down the street, thinking about her new title as ninja and also how far away she was swaying from her ultimate goal. Not even Hinata knew what it was, but the pale girl would freak if she told her.

'_So, I'm not a little academy student any more.'_ She thought to herself and her inner. _'I'm Haruno Sakura, kunoichi in training.'_

'_**CHA! Nothing can stop us now!'**_

"See you later!" A girl called from inside the Yamanaka flower shop, no doubt Ino on her way to the academy for the orientation.

As expected, the blonde walked out into the street and caught sight of Sakura. She glared secretly, but deep down the purple-loving girl was scared. She hid her fear rather well, for a fangirl, but mentally she was screaming and scolding herself for not running or leaving sooner.

"Good morning, Sakura." She greeted, swallowing her fear.

"Good morning, Ino." Sakura replied, frowning at the blonde. Ino shivered under the gaze, but didn't stand down. Sakura stopped and stared at the blonde for a few moments before walking forwards. Ino began walking too and soon caught up with her. They walked side-by-side in silence for a while until Ino broke it.

"So they actually let a freak like _you_ graduate? What a surprise." Ino stated nastily, acting like the pig she is.

"Those classes are ancient history. Were both ninja now…too bad not many people would ask a porker like _you_ to do any mission." Sakura retorted with a calm look on her face. "You should get used to sitting at home, watching everyone else go on missions as you polish your Hatei-ate and water the flowers." The pinkette, although cold and silent most of the time, loved to rile up the ugly blonde.

Sakura, not wanting to speak with the pig-like girl any more, walked at a faster pace. Ino, seeing this as a challenge, sped up too and over took her temporarily. The pinkette sped up again, causing the blonde to do the same. Again, she walked ahead, Ino following behind, until both were in a full out run to the academy. Of course, Sakura wasn't running to her full speed.

Along the way, the blush-haired girl saw something in the alley ahead and spared a glance at Ino, who was too preoccupied with running to notice a thing. She gritted her teeth and ducked into the alley, made a clone and the Kage Bunshin ran with Ino while she stayed in the alley. Sakura took three steps into the ally and glared at the darkness, where she knew there was trouble waiting. A noise alerted her and she pulled out her kunai.

[--

Naruto was sitting at on a chair in the academy classroom he was soon going to say goodbye to, with Hinata leaning on the wooden desk in front of him. She had already claimed a chair on the other side of the room since she was not wanting to sit next to Sasuke, who was on the desk one chair away from her blonde haired friend.

"A-Are you s-sure that y-you haven't s-seen S-Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked him in worry. Usually, Sakura was the first in the classroom out of the three, soon followed by Hinata and then Naruto. Today, Hinata was first. She thought Sakura was just running a little late, so she took her favourite seat to wait. Then Naruto came and she got worried.

"I'm sure, Hinata-chan. Do you think she's okay?" Naruto questioned back, also worrying about his friend. A boy, the same one who had told him it was his fault they had to repeat the Henge review the day he painted the faces, walked passed his desk and stopped.

"Huh? What're you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for drop-outs. You can't be here unless you graduate." He told the blonde, ignoring Hinata as he did.

"Oh yeah? You see this?" Naruto asked, pointing to his Hatei-ate. "Open your eyes, Shikamaru; it's a regulation hand band. We're gonna be training together. How do ya like that?" He asked the brunette boastingly.

"Hn." Shikamaru grunted, putting a hand on his hip lazily.

"Let me put it to you this way. I look great in this headgear, like it was made for me. Believe it. Hahahahahahaha." Naruto stated, laughing at the frowning Genin. Hinata cleared her throat quietly, but Naruto carried on laughing at Shikamaru. Frowning slightly, she coughed a little, but that also didn't get Naruto's attention. Seeing no other way, she poked him on the shoulder.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata called quietly, reminding the blonde with her eyes.

"Oh! Shikamaru, have you seen Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked him seriously, no longer holding a taunting gleam in his eye. Shikamaru, to say the least, looked completely shocked by the suffix.

"She lets you call her that?" He asked in question. "I haven't seen her, but I wouldn't be calling her 'chan' if I were you." Shikamaru warned him.

"For your information, she _lets_ me say it." Naruto boasted.

The door swung open and 'Sakura' ran in with Ino at her side. The latter seemed exhausted while the pink haired girl wasn't even breathing in any odd or different way. Naruto looked at 'Sakura' happily and relieved, but Hinata just sighed and threw a kunai at her.

"H-Hinata-chan! W-What are you doing?!" Naruto yelled.

"Look." Hinata told him sadly. He did as she told him and saw the Sakura next to Ino disappear in a cloud of smoke. Ino and Naruto both let their eyes widen in shock.

"I was tricked by a stupid imitation?! A weak little BUNSHIN!?" Ino shrieked. Naruto was about to reply, telling her that it wasn't weak _or_ a regular Bunshin, but Hinata just shook her head and sighed.

Not two seconds later, the door opened again and Sakura stumbled in, covered in bruises and small cuts. She stood tall and walked over to Naruto and Hinata, who both stared at her in worry. Brushing of the looks of wonder from the rest of the class, Sakura stood in front of them indifferently, her arms crossed over her chest. Even Ino was a little concerned by how deep the small cuts looked, as if she was cut with a kunai or shuriken. If someone could do _that_ to Haruno Sakura, they could be in trouble.

"S-Sakura-chan! What happened to you?" Naruto asked loudly. Sakura looked at the ground before glaring at him.

"Not that it's any of your _business_, but I fell over on my way here and got cut up a bit, Naruto." She told him falsely.

"T-Then why d-did you c-create a clone t-to trick I-Ino-san?" Hinata asked her, knowing the excuse to be a lie. Sakura frowned and took the seat next to Naruto, obviously not wanting to talk to them about it. Sasuke, who was on the other side of her, opened his eyes and scanned over the injuries. They were bad, but not fatal. The most that could happen was she could feel a bit woozy from blood loss. He closed his eyes again.

"Hn." He said coolly. All of the girls crowded around his desk and swooned, but also yelled at Sakura about sitting next to him.

"Hinata-chan, you should probably go to your seat." Sakura advised her friend, who complied. "As for the rest of you, shut up. You're giving me a big headache." She finished, glaring death by poison at the fangirls crowded around for Sasuke.

'_Clueless.'_ Sasuke thought, thinking of his fans. He then looked to the girl sitting beside him. _'What's up with her? She's usually fully alert.'_ He noted when he saw her eyes close and re-open quickly afterwards, obviously meaning she was tired.

[--

"One of the only two most promising new graduated students, Uchiha Sasuke. Is that him?" A man asked as a group of Jounin looked into the crystal ball.

"Yes, he's the one." The third informed them.

"He's the only survivor left from the Uchiha clan." A woman claimed.

"That's right." The third said.

"Is that girl Haruno Sakura, best graduating kunoichi?" Another Jounin asked.

"Yes. She and Uchiha are equally matched…according to test scores, at least." Sarutobi added warily. Most believed she was holding back all year, but no certainties.

"Hmm." Another man, this one with silver, gravity defying hair and a mask over his face, mused. "Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

[--

Naruto -who wasn't really liking all of the attention his rival was getting- growled as he was pushed out of the way by fangirls so he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the desk. He frowned and glared up at Sasuke, but noticed for the first time how close the Uchiha's elbow was to Sakura's arm, which was resting on the desk in front of her. He was not happy. Not at all.

Sasuke heard a dull thud on his desk and opened his eyes, only to come face-to-face with the blonde boy. Naruto was crouching on the desk in front of the Uchiha boy, so close their noses were almost touching, growling at him audibly with a death glare. Sasuke just looked at him in irritation and sighed. Naruto, on the other hand, was nudging Sasuke's elbow with his foot to get it away from Sakura.

"Naruto!" Ino yelled. "Hey, stop glaring at Sasuke-kun!"

'_Pff, Ino-pig.'_ He thought, not taking note on how he had started the thought the way Sakura starts most of her sentences. _'Why are they so obsessed with him? __**Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun**__. What's the big deal with this guy?'_

The Uchiha, seeing that Naruto wasn't planning on backing off soon, narrowed his eyes into a glare of his own. Their faces got closer and sparks of hate began to fly when they looked at the other. Sakura sighed again, glad that everyone had forgotten about her injuries. The fangirls were all yelled and complaining about the blonde being so close to their _one true love._

"Whoa, haha, this is great!" A guy in front of Naruto said as he stood up and bumped the boy. "Sorry, did I bump you?" He asked as he turned to face Naruto.

"What the?" Sakura asked, speechless.

"I…uh…" Ino trailed off, not being able to find an answer.

Naruto and Sasuke were kissing. Accident though it was, a kiss is a kiss and a boy just took the first those two ever had. The two of them broke apart as fast as they could and began to spit and choke, trying desperately to pretend that didn't just happen. Hinata -crying for Naruto- and the fangirls –obviously for Sasuke- wailed constantly.

"I'll get you, Naruto." Sasuke threatened as he held his throat and stuck out his tongue, spitting at the floor.

"Huh? They are vicious." The boy who bumped Naruto commented, only looking at the fangirls.

"I sense danger." Naruto muttered. He looked to his right, only to see Ino-pig and the fangirls angry as hell.

"Naruto," Ino began. "You are so dead."

"Hey, whoa! It was an accident." Naruto told her, putting his hands up in mock defeat.

"You're finished." Ino declared, cracking the knuckles on her man-like hand and baring a scaring look on her naturally scary face.

"Hold on." Naruto said, scared out of his wits.

Sakura couldn't help it, this was hilarious. Together with Naruto's new expression of fear and the previous event, she was already shaking from trying to stop herself. The fangirls and Hinata –who were mostly still crying- obviously noticed when melodic laughter filled the air.

"She's-?" Ino began.

"-Laughing?" Another fangirl of Sasuke concluded for her. Sakura got a hold of herself and smirked.

"What? A girl's not allowed to laugh?" She asked. To be honest, the class would have been less surprised if the Hokage Poofed in and preformed the ballet performance of 'Swan Lake' with the Kazekage of the sand as his partner and all of the convicts in the Konoha prison danced back-up.

For real. Sakura laughing isn't something you see –or hear- every day of your life. More like once in a lifetime.

[--

"As usual, Naruto is right in the middle of some kind of trouble." The Hokage stated grimly as he watched the horrified expression on Naruto's face grow. The surprise came to him and all of the Jounins in the room when the cold girl beside him began to laugh softly.

[--

"As of today, you are all ninjas. To get here you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing. What comes next is going to be far more difficult. Now you are only Genin, first level ninjas. All the Genin will be grouped into three-man squads. Each squad will be lead by a Jounin; an elite ninja." Iruka lectured. Naruto, who had a few bruises from the fangirls but Sakura had stepped in before they could beat him too bad, looked up in shock.

'_A three-man squad?'_ Sakura, Hinata, Naruto and Ino all thought together.

"Well, someone's gotta be in Sasuke-kun's group. I wonder who?" Ino asked rhetorically to Sakura, who was trying her best to ignore the pig-faced blonde.

"I don't know." Sakura replied nonchalantly. After her laughter, she had gone right back to being cold and uncaring, much to Naruto and Hinata's chagrin.

'_Pff, like I care about that Uchiha. I only hope to be on the same squad as Hinata-chan.'_ Sakura thought.

'_**Cha! But being on a squad with the hot guy wouldn't be too bad, girl!'**_ Her inner cheered. Sakura sighed; her inner just _had_ to be the fangirl type.

'_You are _so_ stupid.'_ Sakura told her inner self.

'_**Maybe we should be on a squad with Naru-chan! He's kinda cute for an orange wearing knuckle head! Cha! Naru-chan rocks!'**_

'_I have a freak in my head who likes the loser at the same time as the emo wanna be guy. Please, if there is a god, just kill me now.'_ Sakura groaned mentally.

'_Oh no; groups of three. That'll only slow me down.'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

'_I wanna be with Sakura-chan and…well, I don't care who else as long as it's not Sasuke. Maybe Hinata-chan, but I've seen some of the groups from last year. Two boys with one girl. Always.'_ Naruto remembered.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strength and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads." Iruka stated, looking over the list in his hands.

[--

"…squad seven; Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto's head perked up after hearing his name.

"…Haruno Sakura…"

The blonde cheered and stood up as Sakura sighed and smirked at him.

"…and Uchiha Sasuke." The sensei finished.

Both Naruto and Sakura groaned, although Naruto did so a lot louder than his pink haired team mate. Hinata looked over at her friends, a little upset with the groupings so far that had been read out.

'_I won't be with Sakura-chan or Naruto-kun then.'_ She thought sadly.

"Next, squad eight; Hyuuga Hinata…"

"Yes sir." She answered, looking up to listen for her team mates.

"…Inuzuka Kiba…"

A boy with a dog scowled at the wooden desk in front of him, wanting to be with the girl on team seven.

"…and Aburame Shino."

Another boy, this one with glasses shielding his eyes from view and his coat collar covering his chin and mouth, looked up. Sakura felt sorry for her friend internally. She had sat next to Kiba once or twice and he was a pain in the butt. As for Shino, he was just a much a mystery as she was.

"Grrrrr, how did _you_ get in Sasuke-kun's group? You don't even _like_ him as much as me!" Ino stated angrily to Sakura, who just sighed.

'_Baka. I didn't even want to be in his team.'_ Sakura thought as she felt another headache coming up.

'_**Ha! We got the hot guy **__**and**__** the cute blonde!'**_ Inner Sakura announced happily.

'_You mean the emo freak with cockatoo hair and the loud mouth headache on an orange coloured stick?'_ Sakura asked her inner.

"Grrrr!" Ino growled as Sakura ignored her.

"I don't get it one bit. What do you see in a guy like that? He's not so special." Shikamaru commented lazily to the blonde he had the misfortune to be seated with.

"You are so beyond clueless, Shikamaru. Don't you get it at all?" Ino asked him rudely.

"No I don't get it, 'cos I'm not a girl." He answered.

"You are so full of yourself. Jealousy is a terrible thing. I'd hate to be in your squad." Ino said snootily, as if she wasn't jealous of Sakura.

"Actually, I agree with Nara-san." Sakura said, causing the genius to look at her in question. "You know, apart from the whole 'girl' comment. It's not like _I_ have a crush on Uchiha." She concluded.

"Um…yea. Okay, I'm not a girl who behaves like _most_ girls then. Better now?" He asked, embarrassed by the statement the girl just said.

"Whatever, brain-boy. To tell you the truth, Ino, I wouldn't mind being on a squad with him instead." Sakura claimed nonchalantly, pointing to the lazy brunette. Ino fumed, noticing how she basically said Shikamaru was better than Sasuke, and Shikamaru blushed lightly.

"And squad ten; Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru…"

"Ha! Did you say something about _hating_ to be on my squad?" Shikamaru taunted the porker, who growled in response.

"…and, Akimichi Choji." Iruka concluded.

A teddy-bear-cute boy near the front, who was scoffing potato chips at this precise moment in time, didn't do anything to acknowledge that he had heard Iruka place him in the same squad as the cool genius and the pig-like blonde.

'_Ah! Not food-boy too!'_ Ino thought in loathing and despair. Choji, as if hearing her thoughts, scoffed another chip and gave her an evil look before going back to eating.

"Hey, porker." Sakura muttered to the blonde behind her. Ino, taking note of the serious tine, looked at her.

"What?" She asked, not taking notice of the nick-name.

"I'll trade squads with you, if you want." Sakura smirked.

'_**Cha! Cho-kun and Shika-kun are cute too, in their own way! I don't mind trading if I can still see Naru-chan! Shannaro!'**_ Inner confirmed.

"Humph!" Ino huffed, obviously thinking that was an insult in some way she didn't get. Shikamaru and Choji –who both heard what Sakura said, in case you didn't know- blushed lightly and sighed.

"Those are all the squads." Iruka declared, lowing the sheet of names.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called, standing up and pointing at Sasuke. "Why does a great ninja, like me, have to be in the same group as a slug like Sasuke?" He asked angrily. Sakura smirked.

"Hm? Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating shinobi. Naruto, you had the worst scores over all." Iruka told him. Many ninja in the class began laughing now. "To create a balanced group, we had to put the worst student with the two best students. Since Sakura was the best kunoichi and in joint first position with Sasuke for first over all, she fits the bill as well."

"Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser." Sasuke told Naruto in a calm voice.

"Grrrrr, hey what did you say?!" Naruto yelled at the uninterested Uchiha boy.

"Hard of hearing?" Sasuke mocked.

"Knock it of, Uchiha. Leave him alone." Sakura said, glaring at the boy while standing up for Naruto.

"Yay! Sakura-chan loves me!" Naruto cried in glee. He forgot all rules about touching her and hugged his crush around the shoulders.

"No I don't. Let go." Sakura said blankly, causing Naruto to fall back into his seat with water-fall tears. Iruka cleared his throat for attention.

"After lunch, you'll meet your new Jounin teachers. Until then, class dismissed." Iruka told them.

[--

Sakura, Hinata and Naruto walled out of the academy together to eat lunch, but Sakura and Hinata took off without him in another direction completely. Naruto, not wanting to be left behind, ran after them.

"Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan! Wait for me!" Naruto called.

"S-Sorry N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said apologetically.

"We're gonna have some girl-time. We never get that any more, so you can go have ramen or something. See you later!" Sakura told him as the girls walked off again.

[--

'_Ah, what a pain.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he sat on the roof of a building close to the some apartments. _'I get into the same group and Sakura-chan and __**he's**__ gotta be in it too.'_

"There's got to be a way to deal with this." Naruto stated out loud, still annoyed about the 'team' thing. "Huh?" He questioned as he noticed Sasuke leaning on one of the window in one of the apartments, eating a rice ball. "Got it!" He stated with a grin as an idea popped into his head.

[--

Shikamaru and his team were, conveniently for Ino-pig, having lunch together on a roof which over-looked Sasuke's apartment, where he was eating lunch alone. Of course, the genius knew the true reason as to why Ino had brought them up here –I mean, come on. An idiot could figure it out-, also knew that luck or coincidence had _nothing_ to do with it. on his squad was the number one stalker of 'fangirls united'.

"Alright, if we're in the same group, you're going to have to follow _my_ lead. That's the only way it'll work." Ino stated while pigging out on a large rice ball.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru groaned, not wanting to be anywhere near the dumb girl, let alone have to take her orders. _'That's the only way it'll work 'cos she throws a __**fit**__ if she doesn't get her own way.'_ He added mentally.

"Why don't you lead us to some barbeque, Ino?" Choji, who had a rice ball in each hand and several more in his lap, asked hopefully.

"Hopeless!" Ino groaned loudly, smacking her hand onto her forehead.

Shikamaru was about to make a come-back in a way of defending his friend against the wicked witch of the pig-pen, but he noticed Naruto sneaking up on Sasuke, who was still _conveniently_ and _coincidentally _located right across the street from them.

"Naruto." Shikamaru stated, grabbing Ino's attention.

"Huh?" She asked dumbly.

Naruto jumped though the window and tackled Sasuke to the ground, out of sight of the Team ten Genin. Shikamaru and Ino just stared in shock as the window closed and the sound of fighting was heard. Loud bangs and growls were obvious, but no one could tell who was emitting them or breaking the objects in Sasuke's small home.

"Naruto!" They heard Sasuke yell.

"Pipe down." The blonde retorted.

"Naruto!" Ino yelled in her annoying voice. "If you so much as scratch him, you're in my enemy list forever." She threatened, even though Naruto -luckily for his ears- couldn't hear a word she was saying.

From inside the room, the fighting sounds continued for a few more seconds. It sounded like Naruto or Sasuke was hitting the other, probably Sasuke hitting Naruto in their opinions, and then the person getting hit fell down and got back up, returning the blow with one of their own. It carried on for a bit longer before all suddenly went quiet.

"Grrrrr, w-what happened?" Ino asked.

[--

Inside the room, Sasuke was standing over a tied-up Naruto, who also had two pieces of tape covering his mouth.

"Huh, nice try." Sasuke stated.

[--

Team ten saw the window open and Sasuke hauled himself out with one hand until he was on the roof under the window. The then smirked and looked forwards, not noticing the newly grouped into team ten Genin watching him. He shook his head, letting his hair move slightly in the soft breeze, before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"He beat Naruto without even breaking a sweat." Shikamaru stated in wonder at the Uchiha's ability.

"What'd you expect?" Ino asked, looking sure of herself. "Naruto against my boy, Sasuke-kun? No contest." She finished.

Choji just ignored the whole thing, munching on his rice balls like the good little boy he is.

[--

Back with Hinata and Sakura, the two were talking, sitting on a stone bench outside the academy. They had just finished their bentos and were still talking about random stuff. For example, they spoke of training, Hinata's family since -Sakura wouldn't discuss her own-, and then how they thought they'd get along with their new teams.

"I think that Inuzuka-san and Aburame-san will make good team mates, Sakura-chan." Hinata stated, still a bit bummed about no being grouped with her or Naruto.

"Yeah, but that dog-boy can be a pain. I've had to sit next to him in class more than once and all he does is turn red and stutter. Not that there's anything wrong with stuttering, but he was annoying." Sakura told her moon-eyed friend. "As for my team…Naruto is a pain in the butt and Uchiha…I don't know why, but I just don't like that guy."

"A-Ano…Sakura-chan, S-Sasuke-san is just o-over there." Hinata told her, pointing to a tree in front of the bench. Sakura looked up and sighed, knowing Naruto's chakra anywhere.

"Hm…I see." Sakura said, unimpressed by the henge.

"U-Um…well…I need t-to g-go and f-find m-my team. L-Lunch is a-almost o-over a-and I w-want t-to introduce m-myself to them." Hinata said, standing up and excusing herself. Sakura sighed again and waved to her as she walked off before turning to her own blonde/blue haired team mate.

"Sakura, your lips are so soft and lovely. It's makes me feel like kissing them." Sasuke/Naruto said smoothly. If Sakura was any other girl, like Ino, she would have passed out from fainting. Not only that, but she knew this was Naruto.

'_**Who cares? The blonde cutie is just as good! CHA!'**_ Inner claimed, pumping her fist in the air in her small display of triumph.

"Only kidding." He said, sitting next to her on the bench. "That's the kind of dumb thing that Naruto would say." Sasuke/Naruto said. Sakura had the urge to point and say 'you are Naruto, loser', but she decided to play along for now.

By playing along, that meant treating Naruto/Sasuke the way she would treat regular Sasuke. With a sneer, a glare and cold attitude.

"I wanna ask you something." He said, stealing Hinata's previous seat on the bench. "Naruto…what do you think of him?" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed, thinking of all the things she could say in answer to the one little question.

"I think he's annoying, childish, stupid, crude, and at times vulgar and a complete loser." She said. Sasuke/Naruto looked hurt.

[--

Back in the apartment, Sasuke was tied up on the floor with two pieces of tape covering his mouth, just as Naruto had before.

'_I let my guard down'_ He thought.

[--

_Sasuke stood over a hog-tied Naruto with a look of superiority on his face, along with a mocking smirk. Naruto puffed into smoke and was replaced by a log in no time. Uchiha Sasuke looked shocked, to say the least. Six Naruto's all leapt at him from above, yelling random insults at him as they did so._

"_I gotcha!" They all said together. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" The clones cried as they flew at him. Sasuke looked up, in greater shock, as he was landed on by all of the clones. This was not his day._

[--

'_In class, he couldn't even do a simple replication. How could he combine a replacement jutsu with a full shadow clone jutsu?'_ Sasuke, not knowing about Naruto's ability to do _Kage_ Bunshin, thought with a grunt and heated glare.

[--

"I think he's annoying, childish, stupid, crude, and at times vulgar and a complete loser." She said. Sasuke/Naruto looked hurt."And also, if he wants to know what else I think of him, he should ask me as himself and not when he's in a Henge to look like Uchiha." Sakura concluded.

Naruto/Sasuke transformed back and stared at her with wide eyes. It was easy to fool Hinata and everyone else he passed in the Henge as Sasuke and no one noticed a thing. He knew she was a good ninja, but to see though a Henge that easily, she had to be a pro!

"How'd you know it was me?" The blonde asked her. Before she could answer him, Naruto felt a pull at his stomach. He grabbed the offending body part in pain and shivered. _'My stomach! What timing!'_ He got up and ran off, leaving a mildly confused Sakura behind him.

"Are you okay?" Sakura yelled after him.

"I'll be right back!" Naruto assured her as he ran off, waving one arm over his head.

"No wonder he smelled like spoilt milk." Sakura muttered to herself with a smirk.

[--

Naruto ran though the streets, still clutching his stomach, until he finally reached a bathroom. He opened the door, sped inside and slammed the door behind him, locking it as well. Once inside, he sat down on the toilet and wiped his forehead, which was covered by his Hatei-ate, free from non-existent sweat.

"That was close; really close. My stomach was so upset I almost completely made an idiot out of myself in front of Sakura-chan. Actually; I think I already did that. Grrrr, why did it have to happen right then? Right when she was about to tell me–argh!" Naruto growled.

'_She thinks that __**I'm**__ annoying? She said that so many times before. I transform into Sasuke, finally get close to Sakura-chan and she has to say that? She even saw though the jutsu!'_ He groaned mentally.

"Hey, I know what I should do. I'll do a better jutsu so she can't see though it, then make Sasuke act all obnoxious. Then she'll finally realise that someone out there is worst than me." The blonde decided with a menacing grin.

[--

Sakura sighed as she leaned her back against the back of the bench, still waiting for her blonde friend to come back. She was seriously considering just leaving, but that would only cause problems later. That and she wanted to tease Naruto about how she knew what was wrong because he _still_ smelled like stale milk.

Feeling chakra approaching her, Sakura looked to her right and saw Sasuke walking in her direction. She made sure it was really him –which it was- before closing her eyes and sighing again. Naruto was taking _way_ too long for her liking.

'_Well, at least Uchiha won't bug me.'_ Sakura thought as an upside.

'_**Cha! That's too bad! With him and the cute blonde on my squad; I can finally act like a girl and go nuts over boys! Shannaro!'**_ Her inner cheered, making Sakura groan mentally.

The pinkette cracked open one eye slightly and watched Sasuke walk right passed her, not even sparing her a glance. She didn't mind. It came as a relief after having Naruto around to bug her constantly for day without end. In fact, Sakura wished that Naruto was a little more like that.

…

Okay, maybe not. She like the blonde the way he was. However, it wouldn't hurt him to be a little less loud in the future. Just a little.

Sasuke also noticed the pinkette was paying no attention to him as he walked passed her. It wasn't as if he wanted her to act like all his fangirls and start to faint or blush whenever she was around him, he just wanted her to pay a little more attention to him and less to that blonde dolt. Even Shikamaru, the lazy genius of the class, got her attention more than him.

He wasn't jealous, just a bit angry at Naruto. If that idiot thought that transforming into him would grab Sakura's attention, he was way more than wrong. He didn't even spare the thought to see that Sakura paid more attention to Naruto and Hinata than to her own _sensei_. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if Sakura paid more attention to the blonde and the shy girl than her own mother and father, her parents…if she had any. He wasn't too sure about her family…or her past, now that he thinks about it…or anything about her passed her appearance for that matter. How odd to have a girl as secretive as she is. Most girls he knows are blabber-mouths.

As a matter of facts, she was close enough to the blonde to know where he was at this moment in time. That would mean that all he had to do was get her to tell him and he would accomplish two things. One, have Sakura talk to him in a non-violent way. And two, be able to find Naruto and beat his ass all the way to snow country for tying him up. He stopped walking and closed his eyes, then reopened them and formed the words in his mouth.

"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke asked her, turning to face the lazily lounging girl. She opened one of her eyes, gave him an obvious 'why are yo asking me a stupid question like that' look and shrugged. The Uchiha boy's eye twitched slightly at her answer before she spoke again.

"I dunno." She said simply. Sasuke's right eye twitched even more.

"I bet you do." He wagered. Sakura opened both of her eyes this time and glared at him.

"Feh." She said with another shrug. "Why should _you_ care? All he does is pick fights with you."

"All he does is follow you around." He countered quickly.

"Touché." Sakura finished, closing her eyes again. "But…I'd rather be left alone. I sorta got used to being away from everyone after a while, and Naruto just won't let me be alone." She confessed with a third shrug.

"Alone…isolated…you have no idea what it means to be alone." Sasuke told her coldly. Sakura looked right at him and glared. Deciding that she'd had enough of talking to him, Sakura snorted and turned her back to him, prepared to walk in the same direction Naruto fled in.

"Actually," She said quietly, getting his attention. "I know more than you think I do, Uchiha." With those words, Sasuke and Sakura both walked off in there opposite directions. The former of the two was contemplating her words, but also keeping an eye out for the blonde menace.

[--

"Hmm," Naruto said to himself. "That's a good plan of action. Then what am I still doing sitting here?" He asked himself. "I've gotta hurry. I hope Sakura-chan's still waiting." Naruto got up, opened the door and ran out into the hall way, only to come face to face with a stoic –but slightly angry- Sasuke. "Wha-? Ahhhhhhhhh! Sasuke, what're you doing here, you teme? How did you get loose?"

"I used the escape jutsu. No sweat; it's a very basic technique." Sasuke told him with a smirk. "Why'd you do that? Transform into me?" The Uchiha asked him, just to be sure of the answer her thought he knew.

"Uhh…I thought it'd be fun to try out my moves on you, so I did." The blonde said, lying completely. He used Kage Bunshin to create five clones and tried to use the same move as earlier to beat Sasuke.

"Argh! The same technique again?" He asked, groaning.

"This time you'll see what I can really do." One Naruto informed him.

"You're going down for the count." Another said.

"Then you'll have to admit that _I'm_ the best." The third one stated.

"Get ready Sasuke." A fourth one warned him.

Just as all the Naruto's were about to land and pummel him, all five of them felt a tug at their stomach, the same tug that stopped them from learning how Sakura could recognise him. He and all of his clones landed, halting their attack, and grabbed their stomachs in pain. The kept mumbling things like 'it's back again' and 'ouch, my stomach'.

Eventually, their complaints turned into 'I need a bathroom' and 'were is it' until all five of them rushed to the bathroom door. Since Naruto was a baka and he didn't de-spell the jutsu, all of the clones and himself were fighting over who goes first. Sasuke just watched the scene with questioning and slightly freaked out eyes.

"What a loser." The dark-haired boy muttered as he turned his back on Naruto and the fighting clones, walking away.

[--

Sakura was back on the bench, since she had gone back to sit down after Sasuke left, scolding herself for even saying the little amount to explain her life she did. If she heard someone say that, the girl could depict at least three answers without any thought. That the person was alone; they had no parents at the least; and that they were still angry about it. This was not good.

For some unknown reason, this made her think of Naruto. She always called him annoying or stupid. Her words put him down and she told him that she wasn't his friend at all. That must really sting. Naruto wasn't like Hinata. He didn't get that her cold words had double meanings. The boy didn't understand that when she said 'you are not my friend', she really meant that he wasn't her friend, but more like a brother to her than that already. With her cold personality, she couldn't come right out and say things like that.

"I shouldn't treat him like that." Sakura scolded herself. "Next time I see him…I'm going to be nice. Well…I'm going to _try_." She added.

"Argh!" Sakura heard from her right. It was Naruto, walking down the street and clutching his stomach. "Maybe I ate something bad." He thought out loud.

'_Great, Naruto.'_ She thought.

'_**Time to be **__**nice**__**! Smile, smile!'**_ Her inner reminded her. Sakura sighed and came as close as she could to a smile, which was actually a slightly awkward and twitchy smirk.

"Hey Naruto! Let's walk back to class together!" She offered, still using her twitchy smirk/smile thing.

"Did she really say that?" Naruto asked himself, looking at the usually cold girl in front of him. _'She'd never look at me like that. Sasuke must have transformed into Sakura to get back at me.'_ "Trying to trick me, eh, wise-guy? Well forget it!" He yelled. Just as he was about to perform Bunshin, he stomach pulled again. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AGAIN?!" He yelled, holing his stomach and running to the bathroom again.

"Note to self: Don't be nice." Sakura said to herself, watching Naruto run away to the bathroom.

[--

In Naruto's apartment, the third Hokage was looking around the kitchen with a Jounin. The latter was the same one with gravity defying hair as earlier.

"So this is where Naruto lives?" The young-looking Jounin asked, looking around.

"Yes. He'll be on your team. Along with Sakura, who is just one big mystery, and Sasuke, from the Uchiha clan. Good luck, I'm sure you'll need it." Sarutobi told him.

The Jounin walked to the table and picked up the milk carton.

'_This milk is way passed its expiration date.' _He paused his thought to shake the carton and listen to the chunky milk move. _'One sip of this and he'll be running to the bathroom all day. Seems like this kid is just one big problem. Hm…'_

[--

Back in the bathroom, Naruto was taking care of his stomach. Suddenly, he got angry at himself.

"AM I GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE ON THE CAN?!" He screamed.

* * *

**Hey, its Shadow quil here. Firstly, I'd like to thank sakuragirl13579 for pointing out my gramatic errors and would like to say that I fixed what she mentioned to me. Thank you!**

**Anyway, it might take me a bit longer to write up the next few chapters because I've got exams and stuff coming up and I need to study for them.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can.**

**S-Q**


	4. Bell Test

**Hello peoples! I would like to thank the people who have waited for this chapter and all of my reviewers so far. Also, someone asked me about the vote-pairing-thing and...**

**NaruSaku has...12**

**ItaSakura has...1**  


**As for other pairings...well, there are no more that people have voted on. Unless I get people voting for the ones we meet at the Chunin exams, I might end the story before then. In fact, its quite possible that I will.**

**Anywas...yeah. NaruSakura for now. Another thing (you lucky people), since I took so long to update, I'm giving you a 2-in-1 chapter. :D**

** Enjoy!**

Chapter Four

Pass or fail: Survival test

"He's late." Naruto stated as he, Sakura and Sasuke waited for their sensei inside the academy classroom. Everyone had received their sensei and left. In fact, even Iruka had gone, leaving team seven alone.

Sasuke sat on his own at the front desk closest to the door as Sakura lay down on the front desk on the other side of the room, trying to get some sleep. Naruto, however, kept moving around and pacing at the front of the room, bugging the other two.

The blonde stuck his head out of the door and looked both ways several times, to see if their sensei was coming yet. He/She wasn't anywhere in sight, and Naruto was getting impatient. Not that the other two weren't annoyed as well, they just covered it up better than their emotional blonde-haired team mate.

"Naruto, just sit down." Sakura ordered him as she screwed her eyes shut tighter than before.

"I don't want to." Naruto said back. "How come our teacher's the only one who's late? I'm ready to roll. Believe it! The other groups already met _their_ teachers and took off on some adventure or something, and Iruka-sensei's gone_ too_." He stated.

"I know, okay?" Sakura sighed, covering her eyes with her glove-covered hands, frowning when her injured hand stung a little. "Hey! What're you doing?" She asked him when she heard clatter and opened her eyes to see Naruto making the noise.

Sasuke also looked over to the blonde. Naruto was standing on a chair, placing a chalk eraser into the gap between the slightly open door and the door frame, grinning like mad.

"Naruto!" Sakura growled, sitting up on the desk, but not getting down to stop him.

"That's what he gets for coming late!" Naruto informed the pinkette of his squad. "Surprise!"

"You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that." Sakura told him, casting a lazy look in his direction.

'_**Cha! I love stuff like this!'**_ Inner Sakura cheered. _**'Go cute blonde guy!'**_

"Hn." Sasuke said, closing his eyes. "Our teacher's a Jounin, an elite ninja; do you think he'd fall for that?" The dark eyed boy asked uninterested.

"Pff, no sense of time means he might fall for Naruto's prank actually, Uchiha." Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes.

A hand appeared on the door and slid it open slightly before the owner of the hand peeped their head in. Just as Naruto had planned, the Jounin fell for his trick and the eraser plopped on his head, covering it in chalk dust and regular dust-dust. Naruto burst out laughing while Sakura sighed and laid back on her desk, clearly as uninterested as Sasuke was only moments ago.

"I got him! He totally fell for it!" Naruto boasted, pointing a finger at the man.

"Naruto, only girls like Yamanaka-pig say 'totally' and it's rude to point, baka." Sakura stated lazily, not opening her eyes or sitting up to see if he actually _was_ pointing.

'_**Perfect shot, cutie!'**_ Inner praised, giving Naruto two thumbs up.

"Huh? How do you know I'm pointing?" Naruto asked, looking right at the girl. "You're not even looking at me!" He claimed. Sakura just sighed, but she really wasn't looking at all.

"You're _Naruto_. It's pretty obvious." She told him with a shrug as she sat up again and looked at the new comer.

'_He actually fell for that cheap trick?'_ Sasuke asked mentally. _'Is this guy really a Jounin?'_

The man walked into the room and picked up the eraser, studying it for a few moments before observing his team. Sakura had jumped down from her table and was staring out of the window as she stood next to Naruto in her red and black training clothes. Naruto, dressed in all orange, just grinned at the man. Sasuke, however, was still sat behind the desk, scowling.

Team seven also observed their next sensei. He was wearing the usual, regulation uniform of a Jounin, meaning blue shirt, blue trousers and a forest green vest, with blue ninja sandals and his weapons pouches on his thigh and hip. He also had a blue mask covering his face up to the bridge of his nose, so all that was left visible were his eyes. Unfortunately, his Hatei-ate was tied in a way so that it covered his right eye, only showing his onyx left one. His hair was silver and spiked up, leaning slightly to the right as it did so. He also had blue, fingerless gloves on with a metal plate over the backs of his hand.

"Hm, how can I put this as kindly as possible?" He asked himself. "Ah yes, that'll do. Ahem. My first impression of this group…you're a bunch of idiots and I hate you all." The man concluded.

Sasuke glared at him as Naruto frowned and covered himself in a layer of gloom. Sakura, on the other hand, still didn't seem to be paying attention to the man, but was rather interested in the window. She sighed and rolled her head on her neck to face him with a blank gaze. Even that emotionless look caused the Jounin to feel as if he was staring into the eyes of death.

[--

Team seven and their new sensei were all out on the roof of the academy together. The Genin were sitting on the steps, with Sasuke in the middle of Naruto and Sakura, and their sensei was sitting on the railing across from them with his arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke had his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced together, hiding his mouth and the tip of his nose. Naruto had his legs apart with his hand on the ground, arms going though his legs to do so. Sakura was positioned with her knees pulled up to her chest and her right hand holding her left wrist in front of her legs.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time?" Their sensei suggested lazily.

"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura echoed suspiciously.

"Well, what are we supposed say?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future." The older man said with a shrug. "Hobbies. Things like that." He concluded, crossing his arms again.

"Why don't _you_ tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it's supposed to work." Naruto recommended simply.

"He looks like a spy or something…especially with that mask." Sakura confirmed, voicing her opinion.

"Yeah! Very suspicious! Talk, old man!" The blonde added with a grin, causing Sakura to roll her eyes and smirk at the boy. Sasuke, who was between them, seemed to grow angry at her paying attention to the less-able ninja than him and his frown deepened.

"Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that." He shrugged, not caring to explain his reasons to the twelve-year-olds.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, but he was ignored.

"…My dreams for the future…never really thought about it." Kakashi admitted easily. "As for my hobbies…I have lots of hobbies." He concluded with a smile, as far as they could tell at any rate.

"Well, that was totally useless." Sakura commented to her team mates.

"I know. All he told us was his name." Naruto added.

"Hm." Sasuke agreed.

"Okay, your turn." Kakashi told them. "You on the right, the blonde, you first." He commanded.

"Believe it! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, but I really, _really_ like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku ramen shop or the ramen I eat with Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. But I hate the three minuets you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup, unless I can talk to Hinata-chan or…well, Sakura-chan doesn't really talk much anyway." He mused, finger to his chin in thought.

"I do talk. You just wouldn't be able to offer me an intelligent conversation while waiting for your sludge in a cup." Sakura retorted casually, ignoring the fact that she just completely insulted his favourite food in the whole wide world. Naruto gasped at how she was –ahem- uneducated about the wonders of ramen.

"Sakura-chan! How can you say that? Ramen would probably replace Kami-sama if it were alive! I love ramen!" He gasped.

"Finish your introduction, dobe." Sasuke commanded coldly, annoyed that he was still getting ignored.

"Oh, I forget you were here." Sakura stated as Sasuke sweat dropped at her comment, thus proving that he _really was _being ignored and not just acting like a drama queen. I-I mean _king _yes…that's what I meant…really.

"Fine. My hobbies are…umm, pranks I guess. Oh! And also eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them against others. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important." Naruto concluded, pumping his fist in the air out of serious determination.

'_Well, he's grown up in a very interesting way.' _Kakashi thought, looking at the loud blonde.

'_Naruto…'_ Sakura mused with a mental smile.

'_**GOOD LUCK CUTIE! GO! GO! GO!'**_ Inner cheered to her favourite blonde.

"Alright, next." Kakashi said, looking at Sakura.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is…hmmm, I'm not too sure I like anything. I guess I like Hinata-chan and Naruto." She shrugged. Naruto cheered, until: "No, actually, just Hinata-chan. Naruto is a baka." She confirmed as he stopped cheering and cried.

"So mean, Sakura-chan!" He complained. Sakura just rolled her eyes and continued with her introduction.

"What I dislike, well, we'll be here all day if I listed them. My hobby is…er, I can't really say. I guess it's getting ramen with Naruto and hanging out with him and Hinata-chan, or shopping with Hinata-chan. Umm…train too, I suppose." She said thoughtfully. Naruto cheered. "As for my dream…dreams are utterly and completely useless. They don't do _anything_ except give you a goal you'll never reach and make you angry when you fail miserably. So…I don't have one." Sakura finished with a shrug.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's the most I've ever heard you say all at one time! That's gotta be, like, a record or something!" Naruto stated in awe.

"Pff, whatever." She said, rolling her eyes.

'_Well, that was unexpected. Her view on dreams is completely…different than anyone I've ever heard. She's been though a lot.'_ Kakashi noted, trying to get an insight to how Sakura's mind works. So far, no luck.

"Okay, last one." Kakashi told them.

"My name…is Uchiha Sasuke." He said slowly.

"What, did he forget his name?" Sakura muttered when she noticed the pause, but everyone heard her anyway. Sasuke glared at her while Naruto laughed and Kakashi sighed in amusement.

"I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly _like_ anything. What I have is not a dream, because I _will_ make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan…and destroy a certain someone." He finished darkly. Everyone was silent, just staring at Sasuke.

'_G-Gee, I hope he doesn't mean me.'_ Naruto prayed mentally, getting ready to run for his life if needed.

'_Emo.'_ Sakura thought with a roll of her eyes.

'_**Sasuke is so hot! Naru-chan is so cute! Our sensei is hot and so, **__**so**__** cool! I think I'm in heaven!'**_ Inner Sakura yelled, drooling.

'_Does he even know how to restore his clan? If he did, I don't think he'd talk about it like he does.'_ Sakura pondered. For once, Inner was silent and wide-eyed when she picked up on what her outer-self was implying.

'_Just as I thought.'_ Kakashi mused, frowning.

"Good; you're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi informed them.

"Yeeeup!" Naruto said, saluting sloppily. "What kind of mission are we going to have?" He asked energetically.

"It's a task that the four of us will do together." Kakashi said slowly and mysteriously.

"What, what, what?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"A survival exercise." Their sensei told the three new Genin.

"Huh? Survival exercise?" Naruto asked.

"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more lame-o practice, _sensei_." The girl on the team stated, controlling her anger.

"Yeah! We already did this stuff at the academy! That's how we all got here!" Naruto told him testily, also getting angry at the idea of _more_ training. The next thing will be another test or something. Naruto barely passed the _first_ test, and he tried that one three times!

"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi informed them.

"So, uh, so, uh, what kind of training is it then?" Naruto questioned. The older man began to chuckle.

"Hey, that's a normal question. What's so funny?" Sakura asked, not wanting this man to try and insult or otherwise hurt Naruto.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm, well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it, hmhmhmhmhmhm." Kakashi taunted.

"Huh?" Naruto queried. Kakashi stopped laughing and adopted a scary looking face before speaking.

"Out of the twenty seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as Genin." He started menacingly. "The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words; this is a make it-break it, pass-fail test. And the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty six percent."

Naruto's face became a mix of shock and fear. Sasuke just looked annoyed and utterly pissed off. Sakura, on the other hand, yawed and blinked, still waiting for the bad part. She obviously wasn't too concerned about the threat.

"See, didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi mocked innocently, as if he hadn't just told them they would most likely have to go back to school for another year of learning.

"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?" Naruto yelled out questions at him in anger.

"Oh that? That was just to select candidates who _might_ become Genin. Or not." Kakashi told him, not caring in the slightest for the future of the group in front of him.

"WHAAAAT?!" Naruto screamed.

"That's how it is. I decided whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five am, and bring your ninja gear." Kakashi ordered.

'_Well I'm not gonna be weeded out. People are gonna look up to me someday. I gotta pass this test. Believe it. Believe it!'_ Naruto thought seriously.

'_I have _got _to pass this test. No matter how much I act like I don't care, if I don't pass I'm in big, _big_ trouble. Those bruises still haven't healed from last time, and all I did was fight some guy- with barely any of my real strength, admittedly- and I don't want to face the rest of them for real, ever again! Okay, I have to pass without showing them any of my true power…this is going to be harder than I thought.'_ Sakura groaned mentally, keeping up the barrier around her emotions.

'_**Cha! And if we don't pass, we can't hang around the hottie, the cutie and the hot cool guy any more! Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, and pass!'**_ Inner declared.

'_Shut up!'_ Sakura yelled to her inner, which was now driving her crazy with all this talk of boys.

Sasuke, since he was too 'cool' to have any thoughts -more like _far _too brainless- just tightened his grip on his hands in annoyance.

"That's is, you're dismissed." Kakashi said, waving a hand at them. "Oh, tomorrow, you'd better skip breakfast or else…you'll puke." He added menacingly, but with a cheerful smile under his mask.

[--

That night, Naruto practiced his ninja fighting skills on a lifeless, stuffed Kakashi doll as his clones helped him.

[--

Sasuke went home and trained or whatever he does there –most likely something full of angsty-ness- until he went to bed.

[--

Sakura trained until she dropped into an exhausted state of restless sleep, having flashed nightmares of her childhood and the pain she suffered all though her life.

[--

The next day at five o'clock in the morning, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all walked to the designated rendezvous point. Each had a rather large bag with them -midnight blue shoulder bag for Sasuke and a black shoulder bag for Sakura, with a dark green backpack in Naruto's case- full of their ninja equipment. Their kunai holsters and shuriken pouches were in the correct places and each had an empty stomach. They each nodded in acknowledgement of the other two and waited for Kakashi to arrive.

"Sakura-chan, do you want to get some ramen later?" Naruto asked his female team mate. She looked at him though ghost-like emerald eyes and sighed.

"I don't know, Naruto. I'm kind of busy later." She admitted, half truthfully but lying all the same. Naruto looked down in disappointment.

"Hn. Who would want to go out with someone like _you_, dobe?" Sasuke asked him coldly. Both the pinkette and the blonde had to mentally restrain themselves to stop from killing him right then and there.

"Stupid Uchiha, you didn't let me finish." Sakura hissed at her cockatoo-haired team mate. "I'm busy later, but I could meet you for breakfast tomorrow if you want. My treat." She finished with a shrug. Naruto looked at her with wide eyes and nodded vigorously while Sasuke, for a reason he couldn't figure out, glared at the blonde.

'_It's probably Naruto's fault my chest gets tighter whenever I look at Sakura. Also, he most likely activated a jutsu or something to make me want to glare and punch him in the face when he talks to or gets near her all the time. Naruto, it's you and your jutsu that makes me want to watch Sakura all the time. I just know it. Why else would I want to look at her all the time?'_ Sasuke, who was in a permanent state of denial, thought as he glared at Naruto again.

[--

An hour passed and the sun was starting to rise. Naruto was now weary and wished for nothing more than to sleep until lunch time, when he would scoop Sakura off of her feet and carry her to Ichiruka's ramen with or without her consent. Anything to get her away from Sasuke as quickly as he could. Once there, he would be crowned the ramen king, best ninja in the world!

'_Hehe, then Sasuke-teme will have to bow down to me and admit I'm better than him. I'll have Sakura-chan, the perfect queen, Hinata-chan, my best friend and advisor, and everyone else will be my subjects. Ino-pig and Sasuke-teme will be thrown in my castle dungeon and Sakura-chan and I will live happily ever after.'_ Naruto concluded with a content sigh.

"Naruto, quit day-dreaming about me." Sakura ordered with her head and eyes turned towards the sun. Naruto grew a shocked expression and felt someone glare death by kunai, shuriken and fire-based jutsu at him, but just shrugged it off. Gee, I wonder who was glaring…not.

[--

Yet another hour flew by and Sasuke was still on his feet. Sakura, after pulling out a book to read, had settled herself on the ground, lying on her back, while reading contently. Naruto, however, had long since fallen to the floor in exhaustion and Sakura -out of pure, but hidden, concern for her friend- let him lean his blonde, spiky head on top of her stomach for rest. The blonde wasn't sleeping right now, but he was day-dreaming about something again.

'_I can see it in my dreams.'_ Sakura thought as she closed her eyes. _'The moon in the day, the sun at night. Old or young, begin your plight…I can't remember the rest. Oh okaa-san, memories of you reading me that poem as a child are as fresh as the ones of yesterday. I miss you and otou-san from before what happened.'_

Sakura broke her thoughts and looked up at Sasuke, who was still glaring at Naruto, then she let her eyes wander to the blonde on her stomach and she felt as if she could feel emotion again. She put her book on the grass, careful not to disturb Naruto as she did so, and subconsciously twisted her fingers though his hair as she looked up at the sky.

'_Naruto, the hardships you have faced are so different to my own, yet so similar. While you were alone due to hate and myself due to fear, we each have the opposite reason. People hate you so you were left with fear of them and their actions. People fear me so I was left with hate of them and their ways. You're like my younger brother, Naruto. Never shall I say it to your face, since I'm not that kind of person, but I hope that you see that one day.'_

'_**If not, we can always get married and be crowned the king and queen of Konoha. Also, Sasu-chan and Kashi-chan will be deeply in love with me! I'll have Naru-chan, the perfect king, Hina-chan, my best friend and advisor, Sasu-chan and Kashi-chan as my fanboys and everyone else will be my subjects. Ino-pig and Sasuke-kun's fangirls will be thrown in my castle dungeon and Naru-chan and I will live happily ever after!'**_

[--

Around twenty minuets passed without thoughts. The only thing going on with the Genin members of team seven was glaring -from Sasuke- day dreaming and heavy blushing -from Naruto- drooling and the threat to take over and kiss Naruto –from Inner Sakura- and ignoring of all three of them, inner Sakura included, -from Sakura- until Kakashi arrived.

"Morning everyone." Kakashi said as he approached his new charges. "Are you ready for your first day?" HE asked. Naruto sat up, with some reluctance, and Sakura just then realised that she had been playing with his hair. She frowned and sat up as well. Sasuke, seeing the two separate partly, let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Hey, you're late!" Naruto yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger at the older man, who just waved lazily at the three of them.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path; so I had to take the long way." He explained, pointing to his right, where he had approached from. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke just looked at him in disbelief. "Well," Kakashi cleared his throat. "Let's get started."

Kakashi walked over to a near-by stump and placed a timer on top of it carefully. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto watched him in question. He then pressed the button on top to set the timer for a certain time and turned to face them so he could explain and answer the silent question asked by all three.

"Here we go." Kakashi began. "It's set for noon." He took two bells out of his pocket and let them jingle. "Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it." The bells bounced and jingled again. "If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch."

"Wha-!?" Naruto cried loudly in protest of the idea.

"You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat _my_ lunch in front of you." Kakashi continued, pointing to three wooden posts in the ground.

'_So that's why.'_ Sasuke thought unhappily.

'_He told us not to eat breakfast to make it harder on us. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I'm twice as hungry from skipping dinner to train _and_ I can't use my full strength.'_ Sakura scolded herself.

'_**Oh well, maybe we can try again next time.'**_ Inner Sakura concluded with a shrug.

'_If we don't pass this, we'll be punished.'_ Sakura told her.

'_**It doesn't hurt or anything.'**_

'_And we won't get to spend any more time with Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei.'_ She added, remembering how boy-crazy her inner was.

'_**Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass and PASS!'**_ Inner cheered.

"Wait a minuet, there's three of us." Sakura stated suspiciously. "How come there're only _two_ bells?"

'_Hmm, interesting. Sakura is the only student I've ever had who noticed that straight off the bat. She might be a better ninja than her appearance gives her credit for.'_ Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at the frown etched onto Sakura's angelic face.

"Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission." The man informed her cheerfully and calmly. "That one will immediately go back to the academy." He declared, waving the bells around. "Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, then you're not going to be able to take the bells." Kakashi concluded, bouncing the bells into his palm and closing his fingers around them.

"Hmm, you might want to reconsider that choice. You see, I never had the thought of sparing your life in mind since I met you, old man." Sakura declared, crossing her arms and raising a delicate eyebrow at his confidence.

'_This girl…she's…not even kidding.'_ Kakashi noted with mild worry.

"Ahahaha, you'll lose. Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser from yesterday." Naruto laughed easily. Kakashi, putting the thought of the promise the young girl gave him to the back of him mind, looked at Naruto with a blank expression…as far as they could see in his single showing eye at least.

"Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them, to be honest. Lowest scores; losers; dead lasts." Kakashi stated, annoying Naruto as planned. "When I say start, you can begin."

Naruto, riled up completely from the comments his sensei threw at him, growled and grabbed a kunai, swinging it around his finger. He got a good grip on it and ran passed Sakura and Sasuke, charging at Kakashi. The man's words flitted though his mind continuously, only serving to extend his anger even further. Just as he was about to lunge at the Jounin, his hand and head were both grabbed, the kunai he was holding now to his neck while still in his own hand.

"Don't be in such a hurry." Kakashi warned him. "I didn't say go yet." He added. Naruto, still in his sensei's grip, growled unhappily. Sasuke backed off a little as Kakashi let the blonde go, but Sakura walked over to Naruto and took his arm gently. Not knowing her to be anything but scolding and reprimanding when he did wrong, Naruto blushed and grinned at her.

'_Faster than he looks. Oh well, nothing I can't handle.'_ Sakura thought with a mental shrug. Inner just squealed and hugged a Kakashi plushie

to her chest in joy.

'_So this __**is**__ a Jounin.'_ Sasuke noted with a scowl.

"_But_, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so…how can I say this? I'm actually starting to _like_ you guys." Kakashi told them with a small smile. Sakura stared blankly at him while Sasuke observed the man coolly for another trick as Naruto, being the trusting person he is, grinned slightly.

"Pff." Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Get ready." Kakashi told them. They got into positions to move. "And now…start!" He said. All of them jumped off into a hiding spot of their own, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. At least, Sakura and Sasuke did.

[--

Iruka and the third Hokage, Sarutobi, were sitting at a desk facing each other. Both were drinking tea and had a calm aura around them, creating a scene perfect for small-talk and a meeting.

"Iruka, what did you wish to see me about?" Sarutobi asked. "I don't think you merely came here to drink tea with me and chat." He observed. "Did you?"

"No." Iruka admitted. "Naruto has been assigned to squad seven. The Jounin in charge of that group…just how hard a trainer is he?"

"Kakashi, you mean." Sarutobi corrected. "You are concerned about him."

"I am." Iruka stated, placing his fist firmly on the table. "I heard a rumour about his training methods. Sakura, I believe, will be alright with them, even if worst does come to pass, but Naruto I worry for."

"Hmm. You worry for those two more-so than any of your previous students, Iruka." The Hokage said as he began removing a book from inside his Hokage robes. He placed it on the table and Iruka looked at it in question.

"What's this?" He asked.

"All the trainees who've ever been assigned to him. Those who passed and those who failed." The Sandaime Hokage told him with a blank face. Iruka gasped.

"May I?" The brunette questioned, leaning across the table to take the book from his superior. He opened it to a page and began reading.

"Found something?" Sarutobi asked. Iruka looked at the page in shock and turned to another, only to be put into further worry and concern.

"This…this is-"

[--

"For all ninja, it is critical to know how to conceal your every movement and hide effectively." Kakashi said out loud.

Kakashi had attached the bells to his waist, making it harder to get them without him noticing they were gone. He looked around to see where the young shinobi were hidden. Sasuke was hiding in a tree, using a branch covered in leaves to cover him properly. Sakura, however, was nowhere to be seen or heard and her chakra had completely vanished.

'_Well, at least they understand that much. They've hidden well. Sakura worries me though. I can tell where Sasuke is by feeling out his chakra, but she seems to have completely disappeared. With her claim of never showing mercy earlier, I'm a bit concerned about this sudden vanishing act.'_ He admitted to himself. _'Naruto, on the other hand…'_

"Huh?" Kakashi asked his own mind as he saw Naruto standing right in front of him.

"You and me! Right now! Fair and square! Let's go!" Naruto yelled to his sensei.

"Hm?" Kakashi questioned, wondering if this orange-wearing ninja was really trying to fight him one-on-one.

'_Fool.'_ Sasuke acknowledged, rolling his eyes as Sakura did a lot.

"You know, compared to the others, you're a little bit…weird." Kakashi informed the blonde with a 'you-can't-be-serious' look.

"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut." Naruto retorted without grace. He then charged at the man, again, with a war cry. After seeing Naruto run at him, Kakashi reached into his back pouch and felt around inside it for something. Noticing his sensei reaching for something, Naruto stopped abruptly.

"Shinobi battle techniques. Part one: taijutsu. The physical art." Kakashi recited to the blonde.

'_Taijutsu…that's hand-to-hand combat. Then why is he reaching for a weapon?'_ Naruto asked himself with a glare directed at Kakashi. The latter pulled his hand out of his pouch and an orange book came out with it. He opened the book and held it in front of him.

"What the…?" Naruto asked, completely confused.

"What're you waiting for? Make your move." Kakashi told him, not taking his eyes off of the book.

"But-I mean…why are you reading that book?" He asked obliviously.

"Why?" Kakashi echoed. "To find out what happens in the story, of course." He stated as if he was talking to a baby. "Don't let it bother you though. With your weak attacks, it doesn't matter if I'm reading or whatever." Naruto's fist clenched and his growled.

"I'm going to crush you!" He promised as he began charging again with his fist ready to swing round and punch the man in the face.

He kicked off from the ground and aimed a high punch at Kakashi's jaw from behind, only to be blocked by a single hand. Kakashi didn't move any part of his body other than his arm to do it as he continued to read. Not giving up yet, Naruto kicked off again and tried to kick the silver-haired man in the stomach, but Kakashi ducked.

"Now you're mine!" Naruto promised. With an opening spotted, Naruto aimed a punch at Kakashi's head, only to stop when the man was no longer in front of him.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time." Kakashi scolded lightly as he appeared behind Naruto, his hands together with his index and middle fingers pointed up. His book was in-between his palms as he remained crouched on the ground.

From her hiding spot under a bush close to the battle, Sakura's eyes narrowed. She closely observed the way Kakashi was holding his hands, but rolled her ghostly orbs after an inspection. No matter how closely it resembled a jutsu hand sign, Kakashi was just fooling around.

'_That hand sign is for a fire jutsu.'_ Sasuke, who wasn't looking as closely as he could, believed. _'He is not just toying with Naruto, he is going to demolish him.'_

"You should have moved, but now it's too late." Kakashi told the blonde as Naruto first noticed the 'hand sign'. "Leaf village secret taijutsu finger jutsu!" He yelled with an evil gleam in his eye. Kakashi's hand raised as he poked Naruto in the butt, hard. "A thousand years on pain!" He yelled, sending Naruto flying with a major pain in his rear.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed as he flew forwards, clutching his throbbing backside.

"Baka." Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes at Naruto's loud screaming and calculated where he was going to land. Once she figured out that he wasn't going to harm himself landing, she settled down again.

"Two idiots." Sasuke muttered, speaking –of course- about Kakashi and Naruto. The display of the 'powerful jutsu' was just embarrassing for everyone on team seven really.

Naruto landed in the river with a big 'splash' and Kakashi just looked at the spot he sank in. The silver-haired Jounin became bored easily and took out his book again, flipping though the pages as he tried to find his original place again.

"Lets see." He muttered after finding and began reading.

Up in the tree, Sasuke observed the Jounin's every move with calculating eyes, ready for any openings. He moved his hand over his kunai holster, just in case he found one. Sakura, still in her hiding spot under the bush, watched the man read with mildly shown disgust over the context of the book.

'_His strength is unfair on Naruto when he uses it like that. What is that blondie supposed to do against that?'_ Sakura thought to herself with a frown.

'_**Cha! We should go and beat up Kashi-chan for making Naru-Naru-chan sink like a rock! Shannaro!'**_ Inner Sakura added, waving her fists at the calm man in front of her.

Back in the river, still sinking at the point, Naruto was getting frustrated by the constant defeats. Even if he couldn't see or hear Sakura, he just had the feeling she was still watching over him. It was a nice thought, but not the best when you're getting hit around like an old pair of socks no body wanted anymore. This was _not_ the way he wanted Sakura to think of him, the future ramen king.

'_Damn it! It wasn't supposed to end like this.'_ He thought angrily as he neared the bottom of the river. Naruto frowned and pushed off from the water bed, swimming back up to the surface for air and a re-match with his sensei. He launched a sneak attack by throwing two shuriken out of the water.

Sasuke looked on in mild shock, actually impressed by Naruto's idea, while Sakura smiled a little at his show of determination. Kakashi, however, was far too skilled to fall for slowly thrown projectiles. He merely lifted his hand and caught them with his index and middle finger, never once looking up from his little orange book.

The Uchiha boy, seeing this, slowly took his hand away from the kunai holster on his leg. Now was not the time to attack.

[--

"No way! This is _more_ than what the rumours said about him!" Iruka exclaimed in shock as he read the book the third gave him.

"Kakashi's tests might be a little harder." The third stated slowly. Iruka looked up from the book in shock.

"But this is…zero people passed!" The academy teacher gasped.

"Yes, Kakashi never passed a person." Sarutobi admitted bluntly. "They have all failed."

[--

Naruto coughed and gasped greedily for air when he re-surfaced from the river, bent down to do so. He crawled out of the water slowly, his clothing slightly heavier than before due to the water-weight. Kakashi looked down at him with mild interest and respect for his determination to never give up, but still believed that his efforts were in vain.

"What's wrong?" He asked mockingly. "You won't get any lunch if you don't get a bell by noon." Kakashi finished. Naruto gasped one final time before looking up at Kakashi with wet blonde hair sticking to his Hatei-ate.

"I already know that, damn it!" Naruto declared loudly.

"You said you're going to exceed the Hokages, but your actions say otherwise." Kakashi taunted. Naruto was about to retort, but his stomach growled as if to help him find another excuse.

"Damn it! Damn it! I can still fight, even if I'm hungry!" Naruto pronounced loudly and falsely.

In his tree, Sasuke blushed mildly as his stomach also let out a loud moan of protest, begging for food. As everyone knows, Uchihas do _not_ beg, not even their stomachs. Sakura, in the bush still, also heard her stomach groan for food, but she ignored it fully and kept her eyes on the bells.

'_**Cha! We can get a bell! Even if we did skip breakfast…and dinner last night…and lunch yesterday! Why don't we eat anything?! We starve almost all of the time? Are we dieting?!'**_ Inner called in protest of her outer's bad dieting plan.

'_No we're not! I just don't find a lot of time to eat in between training and hanging out with Naruto and Hinata-chan!'_ Sakura defended herself poorly with another stomach growl.

"I was just off guard a while ago!" Naruto yelled to his sensei's back as he walked away from the water-logged Genin. "Damn it. I'm hungry. My powers are so…" Another rumble of his stomach. "But I have to get one of those bells. No matter what! I can't…I can't fail at a place like this. Not now that I've come so far. Believe it." He promised himself. "I'm going to become a ninja!" Naruto concluded as a large group of Kage bunshins jumped out of the river to fight.

Kakashi turned and looked –in mild shock- at the barrage of seven Naruto clones plus the original, making it eight. The clones all jumped thought the air in his direction, but he seemed to remain perfectly calm. Naruto, believing that explaining himself is more important than actually getting a bell, yelled to the man.

"HEHE! Security is your greatest enemy! This is my best technique! The Kage Bunshin no jutsu! Believe it!" He screamed as he and the clones all jumped towards Kakashi for an attack.

'_Naruto, you're using that __again__?'_ Sakura thought with a sigh, recalling just how many times he'd shown off that technique since he learnt it not too long ago.

The Narutos landed and began running, creating watery footprints where they trod on their way. Sakura rolled her eyes and mentally noted to tell him about that flaw, since it would be easy to track if he tried hiding at some point. Sasuke, in contrast, could only look on in absolute amazement of the technique.

Kakashi turned to the clones with no shock apparent on his features, obviously not really caring either way, but when he saw the water trail left by every last Naruto he became slightly impressed.

"A real Kage Bunshin no jutsu rather than just a regular Bunshin no jutsu?" He questioned to himself.

[--

"_If you ever lay a hand on my sensei," Naruto began. "I'll kill you!" He threatened._

"_Such big words." He said to Naruto, still looking at the rose haired girl beside the blonde. "I can completely destroy you with a single move!"_

"_Take your best shot, fool." Naruto said, placing his hands in the sign for Kage Bunshin. "I'll give it back to you a thousand fold!" He promised dangerously. Sakura looked at him and narrowed her eyes in wonder._

"_Lets see you try. Show me what you can do, nine tailed fox!" Mizuki dared with a mad look in his eyes._

"_Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Iruka and Mizuki both widened their eyes in shock, but Sakura remained looking at the original in contemplation. Hundreds of Naruto were now swarming the forest._

'_**Naruto…those aren't just illusions, those are solid clones!'**__ Iruka thought in pride._ _**'He has mastered an extremely advanced jutsu.'**_

[--

"It must be the forbidden technique he and Sakura used together to beat Mizuki. The one I've heard so much about." Kakashi muttered, looking at all of the clones with one lazy eye. "Assuming from his abilities, he can only hold that jutsu for around a minuet or so." He saw the clones speeding up slightly. "Even if he starts talking big, Naruto is still Naruto, after all. Sakura said so herself yesterday in the classroom. He can't get me with that technique."

Kakashi, full of confidence, heard the bells jingle as he was caught from behind by one of the Naruto clones. The clone held tight around the older man's chest and eventually worked a way to hold Kakashi's arms and legs from moving.

'_What?! From behind?!'_ Kakashi thought, now fully alert and paying attention to the battle.

Sasuke looked in shock as Naruto caught Kakashi and Sakura smirked in pride for being friends with the blonde. Kakashi was still shocked as he turned his head to see the clone, who chuckled as he held tighter so that the Jounin couldn't move properly and fluidly as before.

"A ninja shouldn't ever let the enemy get behind him during battle, right Kakashi-sensei?" The Naruto clone mocked the man's previous words. All of the Narutos soon took a hold of his arms and legs as one tried to hit him from above. "I used the Kage Bunshin no jutsu…then let one sneak out from the lower part of the river and attack you from behind. You're going to pay for that attack on my butt!" He yelled.

'_Not bad…but not good enough.'_ Sakura thought sadly as she watched Naruto attack the man.

'_A feint operation, huh?'_ Sasuke mused with a smirk as he watched Naruto's plan follow though.

"I'm going to punch you!" Naruto declared loudly to Kakashi as he came in for the attack. The hit landed and all of the Naruto clones holding Kakashi flew back with the force. Of course, the one he hit also happened to look like the blonde, orange wearing ninja. "Huh?" Naruto questioned when he saw what he had hit.

'_Pff, I knew it.'_ Sakura thought, rolling her eyes. Sasuke just looked unimpressed and rather bored, not believing that he almost had a drop of awe in _Naruto's_ thought-out moves.

"Ouch!" The Naruto he hit wailed as he fell to the ground, the other Naruto still holding his arms from moving.

"You must be Kakashi-sensei! You transformed, didn't you?!" Naruto declared loudly. Him and all of his clones began arguing about who was Kakashi in disguise, none even thinking of the obvious way to find out who it was. They yelled random things to each other as insults, hoping to catch out Kakashi. The hits got fiercer as the insults flew, but Kakashi was still no where to be found and the clones remained looking like Naruto.

"You must be Kakashi-sensei!" A clone yelled as he pushed another out of the way.

"You smell like Kakashi-sensei!" The one he pushed retorted, sniffing the air.

"It is the smell of an old man!" A third piped up. But never once were the clones thinking to back up their accusations. The clones, and the original, began attacking each other with punches and kicks.

"Hey, why don't we undo the jutsu?" One smarter clone asked, punching his copy in the face.

"Then, only two will remain and we'll know who it is!" Another confirmed, catching onto the thought.

"Why didn't you notice that, baka no-brain?" A third questioned as he was held by the collar, about to receive a hit in the nose.

"You're me, baka!" The one holding him replied angrily, giving him the hit for good measure.

"I'm going to undo it now!" Naruto –the original- declared as puffs of smoke began to appear around the clones.

"Okay!" A few of the replied.

The clones were gone and Naruto stood in the middle of the clearing alone, no Kakashi or Henge to look like Naruto in sight. He stood alone, bumps and bruises covering his now red face. Obviously the clones weren't the only ones to receive a hit and Naruto got a fair few as well, even though it was impossible for him to be Kakashi…right?

'_I cannot believe I am friends with that buffoon.'_ Sakura groaned mentally. Inner was just gushing over how cute Naruto looked when he was confused and how she was going to beat Kakashi's ass for making her dear 'Naru-chan' get so bruised up.

'_It was a replacement jutsu, baka.'_ Sasuke thought, scolding his team mate's idiocy. _'It is the technique where the user quickly trades place with an inanimate object, animal or something else to confuse the enemy into thinking they were hit. Then you are able to attack the enemies unguarded point, when they are vulnerable from the surprise. In this case, Kakashi-sensei replaced himself with a clone as he watched.'_ The Uchiha finished, rolling his eyes.

Naruto, not knowing that Sasuke was busy with his mental monologue in the tree, spotted something when the sun glinted off of it. "A bell?!" He asked in shock as he took sight of it. "He must have been in a hurry if he dropped a bell." Naruto added, grinning like an idiot at the thought of taking a bell so easily.

However -just as he was about to make a grab for the shiny, round jangler- he found himself being pulled upwards by a rope around both of his ankles. He flew up the tree and bounced on the rope a few times before becoming still.

'_It was a trap.'_ Sasuke thought obviously, as if no one knew. _'That Jounin showed no unguarded point, even when he was fighting Naruto.'_

"The bell!" Naruto cried out as he kept making grabs for the bell. A gloved hand took the bell from under him and held it out mockingly. Kakashi stood up and lifted the bell into Naruto's line of sight before smiling in a taunting way and letting the bell jingle as it bounced up and down on its string.

"Use your techniques only after thinking carefully." Kakashi warned him in a careless tone. "That's why I was able to use it to your disadvantage just a minuet ago. And…don't fall for an obvious trap, stupid." He finished with a quick smile.

"EH?! WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Naruto cried in an outrage.

"…baka." Sakura muttered as she rubbed her ear.

"Ninjas need to think beyond the normal. You know what I mean, don't you? Think underneath the underneath." The silver haired man said casually as he looked up at the trapped ninja.

"I already know that!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"Well, I'm telling you this because you _don't_ 'already know this', as you put it. Got it?" He asked slowly, as if he were talking to a new academy student about kunai. Sasuke's eyes widened from his branch as he noticed the drop in guard. "Your movements are filled to the brim with unnecessary motions." Kakashi continued, as if he didn't know what was going on with Sasuke.

'_This is my chance!'_ Sasuke thought with a power-mad face as he grabbed a few kunai and shuriken. He threw them all at Kakashi with the intent to kill the cocky sensei in one attack. _'He finally dropped his guard!' _The weapons spun as they flew in an arch and closed in on Kakashi with impressive speed for a rookie ninja.

"You're so…oh-?" Kakashi was cut off from his scolding as all of the sharp weapons his exposed right side, sending the man to the ground.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! He got hit!" Naruto cried as he watched the weapons dig into Kakashi's flesh. "Sasuke over did it!" He added in a panic as he looked to where the weapons came from, also Sasuke's hiding spot.

You Failed! Kakashi's Final Decision

'_He finally dropped his guard!' _The weapons spun as they flew in an arch and closed in on Kakashi with impressive speed for a rookie ninja.

"You're so…oh-?" Kakashi was cut off from his scolding as all of the sharp weapons his exposed right side, sending the man to the ground.

"Ahhhhhhhhh! He got hit!" Naruto cried as he watched the weapons dig into Kakashi's flesh. "Sasuke over did it!" He added in a panic as he looked to where the weapons came from, also Sasuke's hiding spot.

Sasuke watched, without care for Naruto's panic, as he hit his target and Kakashi went down. However, his calm gaze turned to shock as the body of his fallen sensei was enveloped in smoke and, when the smoke vanished, he saw that his weapons were now lodged in a log. Nothing but a replacement technique!

[--

'_Damn it! He used another replacement?'_ Sasuke questioned in his mind as he jumped thought the trees. _'He must have determined my location from that previous kunai and shuriken attack.'_ He added as he jumped off of another branch. _'He must have dropped his guard on purpose. I fell for his trap.'_

"There he is." Kakashi muttered as he watched the fast Uchiha jump thought the trees to find a new place to hide. Kakashi reached into his back pouch and the bells jingled with his movement.

[--

Sakura was running thought the forest too, but not to get away from Kakashi as Sasuke was doing. No. she was trying to _find_ her new sensei and get one of the bells. Not only had Sakura promised herself she would finish the task, but she also promised…someone else.

She had already freed Naruto, but he ran off.

[--

_Sasuke had just set off and Kakashi when soon after him, leaving Naruto alone in the trap. Sakura, who had yet to leave, rolled her eyes and got up from her hiding spot. Naruto saw her right away, since no one can really miss pink hair rising from a bush, and grinned widely at her._

"_Sakura-chan! Help me get down!" He requested, begging her for another chance to beat Kakashi to a pulp._

"_Pff, whatever." She said as she pulled out a senbon needle. Naruto looked at the needle for a moment and then noticed something drip from the end of it. He gasped._

"_T-That senbon is laced with poison! It's so covered that…the poison is even dripping off! Sakura-chan, don't kill me!" He begged, thinking that the poisoned senbon was for him._

"_Naruto, I'm not going to kill you. The senbon was too close to my kunai for me to pick it up without jabbing myself." She explained, pulling out a kunai and placing the senbon back into her thigh holster. Naruto scrunched up his face to think before his eyes widened in realisation._

"_That senbon…are there more?" He asked seriously. Sakura nodded and threw the kunai at the rope, cutting it and making Naruto fall. She caught him before he hit the ground, but dropped him lightly when she knew he was safe._

"_There's more. Why do you ask?" Sakura questioned nonchalantly at what he was getting at._

"_Are they for Kakashi-sensei?" He asked. Sakura looked right at him and nodded slightly. "So…you weren't kidding when you said that you had no plans to spare his life then?"_

"_Naruto…" Sakura began with a sigh. "I didn't cover the senbon in a poison that could kill someone. It'll just paralyse him for a while so I can grab a bell. Easy as that." She nodded and leapt off into the trees to find the older man. Naruto shrugged, now knowing that his friend wasn't getting ready to kill someone, and took a step forwards._

_The step only succeeding in getting him hoisted up into another trap._

[--

'_Where are those two bakas I'm being forced to call team mate? Did Kakashi get Sasuke? No doubt he did. I could sense that loser's chakra from a mile away. He doesn't even __**try**__ to conceal it!'_ She thought in annoyance at the incompetence of the 'great Uchiha'. _'No…Sasuke's not that stupid, as much as I hate to admit it.'_

She stopped when Kakashi's chakra got into sensing range and ducked behind a bush for cover. He was standing in a clearing, reading his perverted book, but Sakura wasn't stupid enough to fall for that. The pinkette rolled her eyes and placed her hands in a complex seal, so fast that not even the Sharingan would be able to read it.

'_Baka…he thinks I don't know where he is.'_ Sakura thought as she rolled her eyes. The seals worked and her eyes lost all colour. No pupil, no iris, just plain white. She preformed the final seal and her eyes bled into a deathly colour of red with a single white circle surrounding where her iris would have been. Sakura smirked slightly as she blinked. This was the reason she loved her bloodline limit. The power she felt when using it.

"Sakura, behind you." Kakashi told her casually as the girl's smirk vanished and was replaced with a blank look. She had been told, more than once, that a blank look always makes the eyes scarier. Not that they needed enhancing in that area. Hinata saw them once and almost cried, begging Sakura never to show her those eyes again. No promises were made, but Sakura agreed to never use the eyes in sparring again.

Kakashi was crouched in a bush behind her and, when he saw the eyes, he froze completely. This Haruno bloodline was the most rare, since the Haruno clan barely used it before they disappeared, and extremely powerful, but many believed the actually limit to be a myth. He knew next to nothing about it. All he knew was that thousands at a time have died from only facing _one_ Haruno with their bloodline limit on.

"Bring it on." Sakura muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly.

[--

Naruto, who was still caught in the other trap, squirmed around helplessly and hoped Sakura would come back.

"Ninja's need to think underneath the underneath? Damn it! I'm never going to fall for one of his traps again!" Naruto promised himself as he cut the rope with his own kunai and flipped down to land on the ground safely and without a scratch. When his task was done, he grinned, only to find himself in a third trap. "I FELL FOR IT AGAIN?!"

[--

Getting over his shock, Kakashi placed his hands in the seals for a basic genjutsu. Leaves flew around him and the Haruno girl as she stood in the clearing his clone was in just moments ago. As the leaves passed her, Kakashi expected to see a blank, trance-like look in her eyes, but all he saw was annoyance and boredom.

The leaves cleared and Sakura was standing alone in the clearing, which had darkened slightly with the genjutsu. She looked around and saw no signs of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke or even the forest animals. Her eyes hovered over the trees and noticed one of them flicker like a badly copied movie. A smirk adorned her sarcastic features.

"Does he really expect me to fall for this? Hmm…I wonder how this is gonna go. Is his plan just to make me think I'm alone and hope I'll freak out, or is something coming to attack me?" She mused aloud, tapping her finger on her chin. Her red eyes were still burning brightly.

"Sakura." She heard a strained male voice call to her from behind her back. Her ears perked and she recognised it as Sasuke's voice, so Sakura turned to see what kind of thing Kakashi had planned for her.

"Sasuke?" She asked, knitting her brows together over the glowing red of her eyes. She would need to turn those off before she lost control over her chakra.

Sasuke, as she had guessed, was behind her. However, he had kunai digging into his flash and blood oozing out of the wounds. Weak and at a loss of blood, the Uchiha was using a tree trunk to keep him from collapsing completely.

"S-Sakura…h-help me." Sasuke begged her, blood streaming out of his mouth and over his shirt as he coughed violently. Sakura rolled her eyes and placed her hands in a single seal.

"Kai." She muttered, dispelling the weak jutsu. Kakashi looked on from he perch in the tree and his eyes widened when her red death orbs locked onto his position. The intent to kill poured out with her extensive chakra and told Kakashi two things.

One was that Sakura was far too powerful in her state of mind and two was that the Haruno girl had apparently become very, _very_ annoyed with his time-wasting techniques.

He needed to leave. Fast.

[--

Sasuke's head perked up as he felt amazing chakra coming from the south of the training grounds. It was unreal, like nothing he had ever felt before. So much power, and all from the same place. The chakra felt the same, so it was also from only one person.

'_It could be Kakashi-sensei. He __**is**__ pretty powerful.'_ Sasuke thought to himself before nodding and taking off in the direction of the power, hoping to find Kakashi and the bells.

[--

"Ninja tactics know-how number two; genjutsu. Sakura was like a master against it…and that chakra…" Kakashi muttered as he landed further up north from where Sakura was. Before he took off, he noticed her trying to calm down and only hoped that she succeeded.

From his position in front of Kakashi, still unnoticed though, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at what Kakashi had just said. _'A genjutsu technique huh? Illusionary mind-control. I'm not surprised that the manipulative Haruno would be good at it…but a master? And what about that powerful chakra? Was it hers?'_ He asked himself.

"Ah! I was wondering where you went. You disappeared almost like Sakura did at the beginning. Naruto…not so much." Kakashi told the Uchiha, rubbing the back of his head and closing his eye in a smile.

"But…I'm different from them." Sasuke assured him with a minor glare shown in his eyes. Getting compared to Sakura wasn't so bad, since she was quite strong, but Naruto?!

"Why don't you say that _after_ you get a bell? Sasuke-_kun_?" Kakashi questioned mockingly from his new place behind the frowning boy, still reading that book. Sasuke turned to face him and ignored the taunting suffix the man added to the end of his name, like he was impersonating a fangirl. The Uchiha moved fast and took out three shuriken, throwing them quickly at Kakashi. His sensei dodged easily.

"There's no use in just using normal attacks." Kakashi scolded. Sasuke smirked and threw a kunai in the air, cutting a rope above him as it went upwards. "A trap?" The man wondered as he had to dodge the trap, letting the eleven kunai hit the tree behind him instead of his body. As he skidded to a stop, Sasuke appeared behind him. "What?"

Sasuke aimed a kick at the side of his sensei's head, but Kakashi still managed to block it with his arm, despite the speed of the attack. He grabbed Sasuke's ankle and held it firmly in place as the Uchiha twisted his body around to punch Kakashi. His fist was caught so he carried on, twisting his body more to kick Kakashi's head with his free foot. To block this, Kakashi had to release Sasuke's fist and hold his arm above his head, letting his forearm take the bulk of the hit.

The bells jingled and Sasuke smirked as he reached up to grab one, but Kakashi noticed his plan too soon. So, as Sasuke's fingers grazed across the small silver ball, Kakashi released him and jumped back a bit with a curse muttered under his breath. Sasuke flipped over and landed on his feet, breathing rather heavily, as Kakashi skidded to a halt.

'_What a guy. I don't even have time to read Icha-Icha paradice with him attacking me.'_ Kakashi thought as he prepared for another defence or block, even resorting to dodging with the powerful blows.

[--

Sakura was breathing deeply, trying her hardest to calm down after using her bloodline limit while thoroughly pissed off. She hadn't even used her eyes to their proper ability and yet her anger got to her. Usually she could control them perfectly, but having inner Sakura raging inside her mind, along with the many other souls inside her mind, must have worn away at her control. In the end, she almost let go and wiped out Kakashi. She did, however, manage to hold on long enough for him to get the hell away from her.

She shut off her bloodline limit a few minuets ago, but her head was pounding and almost forcing her to reactivate it. If she obeyed, Mizuki would end up right about his prediction of her killing everyone. There was only one person who had calmed her from her rage before, and that was Hinata. Now, without the Hyuuga near her, she had to try and remember the way Hinata calmed her.

'_**She…she sang a lullaby to us.'**_ Inner Sakura informed her outer self helpfully. Sakura rubbed her temples and tried to remember the song.

"U-Umm…Nen-nen kororiyo okororiyo…boyawa…yoikoda nenneshina, Boyano…komoriwa dokoe it ta, Anoyama…koete satoe it ta, Sato no miyage ni nani morata, Denden taikoni sho no fue, Sho…no fue." She sang quietly, calming herself with the song Hinata sang to her once. Sakura took one deep breath and closed her eyes before releasing it. Content with her sane state of mind, she went looking for Kakashi before it was too late.

[--

Naruto, now hanging from one leg rather than two, and crossed his arms to think of a way down and to avoid any more traps. He was swinging to and fro before he looked over to see his surroundings. Seeing what was behind the logs, he frowned in thought.

"So _that's_ how it looks behind the logs." He said to himself. Upon further inspection, two bento boxes were sitting innocently on a stone. "What the?" The blonde asked, looking at them for a moment. "Haha! There's lunch on the rock! 'ninjas need to think underneath the underneath', huh Kakashi-sensei?" He echoed Kakashi's previous words with a small laugh.

[--

"I'll admit that you're different from the other two." Kakashi said as he acknowledged Sasuke's ability with an indifferent look. Then again, after seeing what Sakura could do and being forced to run for his life, Sasuke wasn't all that impressive.

Sasuke smirked and began to do a series of quick hand seals.

"Horse." The Uchiha stated first. "Tiger." He said second. "Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu." Sasuke finished, taking in a deep breath after he said it.

'_What? That technique is not something a Genin can do!'_ Kakashi thought to himself in shock. _'He shouldn't have enough chakra.'_

Kakashi was, however, proven wrong when Sasuke took his stance and blew out great waves of fire, forming a pit in the ground by melting away most of the earth due to the intense flames. He was able to hold the jutsu long enough to that it would have burned the victim to a crisp and then burned away the ashes before letting go of the jutsu. The fire soon cleared without the chakra to hold it and no one was there.

"He's gone!" Sasuke stated in shock. "Is he behind me?" He asked himself, looking in all directions. "No…above? Not there either. Where is he?"

"Beneath you!" Kakashi roared as his arm came up from under the earth and grabbed Sasuke's ankle. Said Uchiha looked down at the hand holding him in place.

"How-?" He questioned in shock.

"Doton Shinjuuzanshu no jutsu." Kakashi said as he pulled Sasuke down.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke yelled.

Kakashi rose from the ground and stood in front of the boy. Sasuke had been pulled under enough that his head and part of his neck were the only things above ground. Usually he pulled the enemy under completely, allowing them to suffocate, but that would have been a bit too much.

"This is the third ninja tactics know-how, ninjutsu." Kakashi informed him as he crouched down. "How is it? Can't move, right?" He mocked.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he looked away.

"Looks like your talents are quite exceptional. But…" He started as he rose to his feet. "They say that nails that point out get driven back with a hard hit on the head before they can get out any further." Kakashi finished, taking out his book again and flipping to his page.

"Damn it!" Sasuke cursed.

"Kakashi-sensei." A girl called before Kakashi could leave. Both the man who was called and Sasuke looked towards her and saw Sakura with a katana in her hand and a calm look in her eye.

"A-Ah, Sakura. I was wondering when you'd find me." Kakashi said in a slightly nervous way. Sakura looked down at Sasuke, who blushed from being caught by Sakura in a weak state, before shifting her eyes back up to Kakashi.

"Fight. Defend yourself. If you don't, you'll die." She stated easily. Sasuke looked at her with wide eyes. That wasn't a threat, but more of a promise of pain to the older man.

Kakashi took a breath and Sakura blinked. When her eyes opened again, the Uchiha saw Kakashi flinch slightly, but her eyes remained the bright emerald colour they were to begin with. She smirked slightly and her body vanished. Kakashi gasped as he heard the bells on his belt jingle when Sakura tried to grab one, but he moved away too fast. Only then did he notice the kunai to his throat and the other two Sakuras hold his arms.

"When did you…" He trailed off, obviously talking about the Kage Bunshin she had summoned.

"That's not important right now." Sakura stated. "What is important is how easily you were defeated." She ended with a smirk as she motioned to his belt. Sasuke and Kakashi both looked down to see only one more bell left attached to him. Sakura snorted and jumped into the forest, having Sasuke stare after her in mild awe. Kakashi frowned and Poofed away, leaving one very stuck Uchiha alone.

[--

"Hehehehehe. All I have to do is eat this while hiding instead of getting a bell. Time to eat!" Naruto declared.

"Oi!" A man called from behind him. Naruto was shocked when he heard his sensei and quickly began to think of an excuse.

"It was a joke and…" He started.

"Too late!" Kakashi yelled, mocking anger.

[--

'_Damn it…we're really this different in power?'_ Sasuke thought, thinking of how he saw Sakura's ease in getting the bell while his attempt was a complete failure.

He heard a rustle of leaves and thought that it was someone coming back to get him. Hoping that it wasn't Naruto –the boy would have a field day-, or Kakashi –getting help from the one who did this to him wasn't an option-, or Sakura –too embarrassing-, he was pretty much out of options for help.

All thoughts of rescue, however, were blown away when Sakura dropped from a tree not too far from him. She landed as if she were asleep or unconscious, since she did nothing to land on her feet or brake her fall, but her eyes were open. Placing her hands under her, she pushed herself up on shaky legs.

Her head turned towards Sasuke and her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she was having trouble seeing. She frowned and swayed back and forth on her heals for a few minuets before shaking her head and looking at him again with clearer eyes.

"Sakura." Sasuke said in mild surprise with her appearance. Well, take the fact only his head was showing and then add that to the fact he was talking, and any normal girl would have fainted from shock. Sakura, however, was no normal girl and Sasuke knew that she wasn't interested in him.

Therefore, when she keeled over and hit the ground with a 'thud', Sasuke's only natural reaction was to get himself free to check on her and see if she was okay. He was an Uchiha and making sure a girl is in good health is the honourable thing to do…he didn't feel anything special about his particular girl…

[--

When Sakura opened her eyes, her vision was a little phased and unclear, but she was alive. The double image swayed for a while and her eyes eventually went back to normal. She blinked a few times before coming to her senses and realized that someone was hovering over her. Instincts kicked in and she lifted her leg fast, sending the person back a few feet.

After being sure that no one else was hanging over her like a bad smell, Sakura sat up and rubbed her head. She cast a wary look over to the one she had hit and saw Sasuke standing up, rubbing his stomach. If she had aimed a little lower…

"Are you okay?" Sasuke choked out. "You just collapsed out of the tree and fell unconscious a few seconds later. It's not like you." He observed keenly. Sakura frowned and held her shoulder.

"Hn." She muttered, standing up as she rubbed her arm.

"Fine. There's still a little time left until noon. I'm going, since you seem to be well enough to brush off someone's concern." He grumbled, looking out towards the forest where Kakashi went.

"You're still going after the bell?" Sakura asked, clearly not interested at all in what he was doing.

"I was able to touch it a while ago. I'll get it next time." He boasted slightly before remembering that she had a bell tucked away somewhere before he could get another chance to get one.

"Oh." She sighed. "Is that so? Well, good luck, Sasuke." The pinkette said unconvincingly

'_You're acting…odd. Are you sure you are okay?'_ Inner asked with the same concern as Sasuke showed earlier.

'_I have a fangirl in my head, an emo and a loser for team mates and a pervert for a sensei. I am so __not__ okay.'_ She sighed in her mind.

"I would have thought that you might have given up already, since you have such little time left. Perhaps you'd try again next year?" She shrugged, already knowing that even by getting a bell she didn't pass in the end. Sasuke looked at her sharply and she frowned.

He remembered triple pin-wheel Sharingan eyes on a shadowy figure and looked down in sadness before the ever-present scowl worked its way back to his darkened features.

"Only _I_ can kill that man." He confirmed, more to himself than the pinkette behind him.

"Who? Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"I was crying at the time…" Sasuke confessed without hesitation.

"…Crying?" She echoed.

"My…" He trailed off.

"Hm? Your what?" Sakura prompted.

"I am an avenger. I must become stronger than him. I don't have time to stumble or quit here." Sasuke stated darkly, still not making things much clearer for Sakura to understand.

"…_to kill a certain man…"_

Sakura remembered his words from the day before and knew that they must be tied in with his newest statement somehow. However, she got no further time to ponder this as the alarm went to signal that their time was up and Sasuke still didn't have a bell.

"Damn it, I wasted my time talking." Sasuke scolded himself. He walked off as Sakura glared at his back.

[--

Uzumaki Naruto was tied to the middle post as Sasuke and Sakura sat on either side of him. All three were hungry, but only one didn't have the ability to move and do something about it.

"Your stomachs are growling, eh?" Kakashi asked in a taunting tone as he stood before them, fully fed and happy. "By the way…about the results of this little training exercise; none of you need to return to the ninja academy." The older man told the three sitting before him. The words seemed to perk up Naruto, but the other two were still slightly wary of the older man and his tricks.

"Does that mean…we three…?" Naruto trailed off, dancing with his feet and grinning from ear to ear. Sakura frowned, but Sasuke smirked in triumph.

"Yea…you three…should quit being ninja!" Kakashi stated angrily as he watched Naruto's celebration die down to shock within a second of him saying those words.

Sakura, much to the worry of Sasuke –as he was the only one who could see her-, was swaying in and out of conciousness again, but seemed determined to stay awake.

[--

"U-Unbelievable. He never passed a student?" Iruka asked in awe as he set down the book.

"Iruka, I do not know if those three young Genin should become ninjas right away." The third confessed. "But, Kakashi's decisions were absolutely correct.

[--

"Quit being ninjas? What do you mean? Sasuke and I couldn't get a bell, but why do you say we should _all_ quit?!" Naruto demanded as he flared his legs around in fury.

"Because you three are just kids who don't deserve to be ninja." He told them without regret. Sasuke frowned and ran at the man quickly, ready to pummel him. However, Kakashi got the upper hand and turned the attack around to that he was casually sitting on top of Sasuke as if the latter were a sofa. His foot rested on the Uchiha's head and he held Sasuke's arm behind his back.

"Wha-!?" Naruto yelled as he saw how fast Kakashi had taken down Sasuke.

"See? You are all just kids." Kakashi said with a sigh. "Do you guys think being a ninja is easy? Why do you think we're training by breaking up into groups? In other words, you three don't understand the answer of this test, no matter how easy it is."

"The answer?" Naruto asked.

"That's right. The answer to determine whether you pass or whether you fail this exam. Geez, are you brains empty? Do you not get the concept of _why _you are in a _group_?" He asked slowly.

"So what about the tree people being in a group?" Naruto demanded, getting annoyed by the suspense.

"Pff, the answer is simple baka. Teamwork." Sakura stated, rolling her eyes and playing with the bell in her hand.

"If you knew that, why didn't you act upon it, Sakura?" Kakashi wondered, slightly impressed that someone picked up on it.

"…Teamwork isn't my thing." She stated simply.

"Teamwork is the correct answer, but it's too late for that now. You failed, all of you did." He said angrily. "If all three of you came at me at once, maybe Sakura wouldn't be the only one with a bell. But that's too bad."

"Umm…there are three of us and two bells. How does that work?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Tch. Group conflict leading to one person failing anyway. Or so you'd think, at least. Coming together was the true aim. In a mission, your life comes third to completion of your task." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"Third?" Naruto repeated, still confused.

"Second would be the mission and first would be to protect the lives of your team or subordinates." She told him in a tone that suggested she didn't truly think that way.

"She's right. This test was made to make you think that we put you three against each other. In this situation, we chose those who pick teamwork over their own success. That was the purpose, but all three of you were pathetic. Sakura! You cared more about fighting me for a bell than helping Sasuke when he was right in front of you! Naruto! All you did was work on your own." He stopped to push harder on Sasuke's head. "And you! You just assumed that Sakura and Naruto would hold you back, so you did everything yourself."

"This is pointless." Sakura muttered so that no one would hear her.

"Missions are done in groups. On a mission, teamwork is more important than ninja skills alone. One person's action that disrupts teamwork will result in danger or even the death of his or her team mates, or worst, torture. For example…" He said, taking out a kunai and holding it to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke will die!" He threatened harshly. Sakura's eyes flicked over his face, then Sasuke's and finally Naruto's before she glared at her sensei.

"I'm not killing Naruto. Example or not…never _ever_ ask me to do something like that again." She threatened, her glare becoming colder than ice.

"That's what will happen, though." Kakashi said, not taking her threat lightly. He took the kunai away from Sasuke, who sighed in relief.

"You surprised me!" Naruto said in shock, feeling more relaxed now that he knew Kakashi didn't mean it. Thinking about what Sakura said, Naruto decided to question her about it later.

"After someone is taken hostage, you'll have to deal with a dangerous situation or someone could get hurt and someone will most likely die in those cases. In every mission, you put your life on the line." He concluded, getting off of Sasuke and walking back slightly. The boy just glared at the ground.

"Hn." Sasuke said, trying to act unaffected and not slightly shaken up by the demand to kill or have killed Kakashi gave Sakura.

"Look at this." Kakashi ordered, walking to the stone. "There are many names carved into this stone. All those names are people who are praised as heroes in this village."

"I like that! I like that! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. "I've decided that I'm going to have my name carved into that!" He said with a grin. Sakura collapsed onto the ground and frowned, baring her teeth as an inaudible growl left her throat.

"No, Naruto, you won't." Sakura stated firmly.

"What? You want _your_ name on it? Well, forget it! That's going to be my name, no offence Sakura-chan!" He concluded.

"Baka! The heroes on that stone are d…dead. They died on missions or in a battle. A ninja's death." Sakura told him mournfully. "And I hope to never see your name on that rock, Naruto." Naruto's grin fell from his face and he paled, looking towards Sakura. She was scowling at the ground, breathing heavily. The girl had basically just said that she cared about him and didn't want him to die.

"The names of my friends are in here as well." Kakashi confessed, looking sorrowfully at the stone. Sakura's eyes scanned over it before landing on one name…the person in her life she turned cold without.

"You…" She began, getting the males to look at her. "You're not…the only one with people you love in that stone, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura concluded, turning her back to all of them with a glare directed at the ground. The younger boys looked at her, unsure how they should feel for her, but Kakashi sighed in pity. Such a young child already had a reason to visit the memorial.

"I'll give you one more chance." Kakashi told them. "However, the battle for the bell will be much harder after lunch. Sakura, you'll have to return your bell and start again with the boys. Eat up, but only if you are up to the challenge. But! Naruto isn't allowed food. Feed him and you fail." He said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

[--

"I must leave now. We have the new entries for the academy and I can't leave the other senseis to sort thought them all." Iruka said as a way of excusing himself.

"Iruka, do not hate Kakashi for his ways of testing." Sarutobi told the brunette.

"Yes sir." Iruka replied with a bow.

[--

Sasuke was eating his lunch, quickly but politely, as Sakura just pushed hers around a bit. At first she was hungry, but a few bites later and she had lost her appetite. The reason? Naruto's stomach was growling loudly and she felt guilty for eating when he cannot.

'_Passing is important to Sasuke and Naruto. more important that it is to me, I'll bet. I could just feed Naruto and try again next time.'_ Sakura decided. Her inner self nodded, hugging the Sasuke and Naruto dolls she had somehow gotten.

"I'm okay! Even if I don't eat!" Naruto claimed as his stomach let out another contradicting moan of protest. Sakura smirked.

"Then I guess I won't give you this." She teased as she moved her chopsticks in front of his face, a big clump of rice on the end.

"W-Well…maybe I am-" Naruto was cut off from his words when Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and plunged the rice into the blonde's mouth roughly.

Naruto, however, didn't complain until he noticed that Sasuke was still holding Sakura's hand. The Uchiha noticed too and let go fast, knowing that Sakura would kill him for touching her longer than necessary. Sakura just smirked when Naruto nodded his head at Sasuke's reluctance to hold her hand for longer.

"Why did you guys…?" The blonde started.

"If you're hungry, then you're a set back. You'd just hold us back." Sasuke stated coldly.

"Pff, I don't care. You were hungry and I wasn't." Sakura explained with a shrug.

[--

From behind a tree, Kakashi watched the whole thing.

[--

"Thanks you guys." Naruto said happily.

"Don't thank us." Sasuke said, grabbing Sakura's hand and picking up more rice for Naruto in her chopsticks.

"Just eat." She finished as Sasuke shoved the rice in Naruto's face again, still using Sakura's hand.

A massive cloud of smoke appeared, changing the weather from sunny to storming in less than a second. Kakashi stood in the centre of the storm, since he conjured it, with an evil look on his face. He appeared to be angry, very angry in fact.

"You three!" He yelled heatedly.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr." Sakura growled.

Sasuke just got ready to fight if he needed to.

"You three broke the rules. Are you prepared for the punishment?" He asked them cruelly. "Any last words?" Kakashi questioned as he preformed hand seals and the storm got worse.

"B-B-B-But…" Naruto started. "But…But…But…You said…!" He yelled randomly. "That's why these two…"

"We're a three man squad." Sasuke said, aiding Naruto in his excuse of why they did what they did. Sakura, seeing that the two were awful at this, took over for them.

"As a three man squad, we wouldn't have functioned properly as a team if Naruto was hungry. He would have been slower and it could have gotten us into a dangerous situation!" Sakura defended.

"Yeah! Believe it!" Naruto added, not being able to help himself.

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked, getting closer to them.

"Hai!" The three answered confidently.

"Then you pass!" The sensei finished cheerfully. He beamed at them from under his mask and the storm faded away, revealing sunny skies again.

"Pass?" Sasuke echoed.

"Yep! Training ends here! All three of you pass!" Kakashi ended with a bright grin as far as they could see. "Let's go home." He told them.

Sasuke and Sakura followed their sensei away, leaving Naruto tied to the post all alone.

"I _KNEW_ it was going to end like this!" Naruto complained. "UNTIE THE FREAKING ROPE!"

* * *

**EDIT! I have corrected most of the mistakes pointed out by sakuragirl13579, but some I have left as they were. The simple reason for that is I'm British and that is the right spelling. Thanks for helping my out though hands sakuragirl13579 a cookie**


	5. Missions and fights and hate, oh my!

**Firstly, I would like to thank all of my reviews so far. Next, if anyone is interested, the votes on the pairing of the story are:**

**NaruSaku - 14  
ItaSaku -2  
SakuCentric - 1  
No relationships - 1**

**Enjoy this chapter and remember to review!**

**Shadow Quil- **

Chapter Five

A Dangerous Mission! Journey to the Land of Waves!

The sun shone brightly in the village hidden in the leaves, also known as Konohagakure.

"_This is Sasuke, arrived at point B_." A deep voice was heard though an intercom.

"_This is Sakura and this task is pointless, but I'm at point C_." The female voice replied after him.

"_This is Naruto. Hi Sakura-chan! I'm at point A!_" A hyperactive voice returned. He knew that, if he could actually see Sakura, she would be rolling her eyes at his behaviour.

"_You're slow, Naruto_." The final voice scolded. "_Okay then, team seven, we're ready. Huh? The target has moved! After it!_" Kakashi called as a shadowy figure, a rather small one, with glowing eyes ran out of hiding and deeper into the trees for safety against the _ruthless_ ninjas.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto peeked out from behind their trees, which were points A, B and C, as they watched the small shadowed being flea from their range. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Naruto adopted a serious face and Sakura –when she looked at the determination to complete the mission in their eyes- scoffed and looked away.

"_Okay, he's there_." Naruto stated obviously though the small microphone he had to communicate with his team. He and the others moved into a closer hiding spot to their target, hoping to get the mission over with without any casualties.

[--

Kakashi, who wasn't with the three but a close distance from them, moved his microphone closer to his mouth.

"_What's the distance to the target_?" He asked the three Genin.

"_Five metres_." Naruto replied. "_I'm ready to go_._ Just give me the signal._"

"_I'm ready too_." Sasuke confirmed.

"This is pointless." Sakura sighed to herself. "_Pff, I'm ready_."

"_Okay…_" Kakashi began. "_GO!_" He yelled.

The two boys on the team leapt from their hiding spots to jump the shadowed creature before it could get away. Naruto was the first to get to it as he grabbed the target roughly around its middle, causing the creature to mew pitifully. Yes…mew.

"I got him! I got him!" He yelled in triumph as he held onto the…kitten. "I got you!" The blonde taunted. It began to hiss and scratch his body, mostly his face, without remorse.

"_Can you verify a red ribbon on his right ear?"_ Kakashi questioned.

"Affirmative. We've got a positive ID." Sasuke answered.

"_So it's our target, 'Tora'?_" Kakashi asked though the intercom device.

"It's the target for sure." Sasuke replied, ignoring Naruto as the cat began to stamp on his head.

[--

"Okay." Kakashi said. "Operation 'Capture Tora, the missing pet' has been completed. Well done team." He congratulated calmly.

"_ISN'T THERE A MORE EXCITING MISSION WE CAN WORK ON?! I REALLY HATE CATS!_" Naruto bellowed thought the device, causing Kakashi to fall back with the volume of his voice.

[--

"Geez Naruto, you're such a baby." Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto fall into a fighting stance, the cat copying his moves.

"That cat is evil, Sakura-chan." Naruto replied, glaring at the 'evil' cat heatedly.

"No, you just have to know how to handle pets, baka." Sasuke told him, crouching down.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Naruto dared. Sakura walked up behind Sasuke, who held his hand out to Tora. When Tora's eyes lit up in joy and he began to walk in the direction of the cold ninjas, Sasuke smirked. However, the small creature broke into a sprint and ran right passed the Uchiha, jumping into Sakura's arms.

"Eh?!" She called in surprise. "G-Get off!" Sakura yelled, hating all contact with living creatures, cats included.

"The cat likes you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stated with a grin as he watched the brown furred cat purr and rub his fluffy, fuzzy cheek against Sakura's own paler one. Sakura, still hating this contact, growled.

"Hn. Who knew you'd attract animals so well, Sakura." Sasuke teased with a mocking smirk. Sakura glared in response and tore the cat away from her face, dropping it on the ground. That didn't work, since the cat leapt right back up and purred again.

"Why me?!" Sakura groaned.

"Well, the cat _is_ male, Sakura-chan. Maybe he likes you." Naruto stated with a shrug. Sasuke hit him over the head for being such a baka, since Sakura was currently busy trying to get away from the cat.

[--

"Oh, my cute Tora-chan!" A podgy woman cooed as she squeezed the life out of the small cat with a red ribbon on its ear. "Mommy was so, so, _so_ worried about her naughty little fuzzy-kins! Yes!" This woman was the wife of Fire countries feudal Lord. Her name was Madam Shijimi.

"Ahahaha! Stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed." Naruto cackled as he watched the cat fight for breathing space while the woman crushed him again.

"No wonder he ran away." Sasuke stated simply, sweat dropping at the scene in front of him.

"I hope that overly-cuddly _thing_ suffocates." Sakura declared angrily, pouting cutely, although no one told her it was cute out of fear for their lives. Yes, Sakura was still sore over the whole 'loudly purr and cuddle' thing. Actually, the cat hadn't left her arms all the way to the mission assignment room at the bottom of the Hokage tower.

"Now then…" Sarutobi, the third Hokage, began. "Kakashi's team seven's next mission is…hmm? Ah! We have several available tasks that need completing. Babysitting Yojyu-sama's three-year-old boy. Helping his wife do her grocery shopping at the neighbouring town. Helping dig potatoes in the-"

"NO!" Naruto bellowed, placing his hands in a large 'X' in front of him and making a buzzing sound. "No thanks to all of those! I want to do a more _exciting_ mission! A really cool and exciting mission! Something challenging, not just this little baby stuff! Choose something else! Come on, old man!" He almost begged.

'_There is some truth in that. I don't want to get stuck doing these boring missions either.'_ Sasuke thought, agreeing with Naruto.

'_What a troublesome guy.'_ Sakura said in her mind, looking at the bellowing blonde.

'_**OH MY KAMI-SAMA! You just sounded like Shikamaru!'**_ Inner Sakura gaped.

'_I knew he was going to do this soon.'_ Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"Baka!" Iruka scolded as he stood up from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. "You're still a novice ninja! A Genin! A beginner with no experience for Kami-sama's sake! Everyone needs to start with the easy missions to gain experience! How dare you demand something else?!"

"Are you serious!? Babysitting is not a mission, it's a chore! None of us want to stick to this crap!" Naruto began in return. "We've only been doing dumb missions lately!" He whined pathetically. Kakashi, getting fed up with the complaining, hit him over the head and caused the blonde to fall to the floor.

"Will you put a lid on it?" He asked annoyed.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" He cried, jumping into a sitting position and rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"Naruto!" The Hokage called. "It seems as if you do not understand the tasks you have been given." These words caught Naruto's attention as he looked up to the Hokage. "Listen. Many different kinds of requests come into our village everyday, from babysitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully sorted." He gestured towards an assortment of scrolls with different letters on them. "They are analyzed, and then ranked 'A', 'B', 'C', or 'D', depending on their difficulty. Are you with me so far?"

"Yeah, Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. The Hokage then looked towards the other two Genin.

"And you two?" He questioned.

"Hn." Sasuke answered, looking away with an upturned nose.

"I am." Sakura stated respectfully, with a downward tilt of her head as if she were bowing. This act of respect astounded everyone, since all knew her to be the sarcastic, disrespectful ninja she usually is.

"Very well then, I shall continue. We ninja are also ranked by our abilities and power. Hokage is at the top, then Jounin like Kakashi, followed by Chunin such as Iruka and Genin, like you, at the bottom. At the highest level, we select missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience and, if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are inexperienced Genin, just starting down the shinobi path, you are given 'D' ranked assignments, of course. Hm?" He then noticed that Naruto wasn't even facing him and instead was still sitting on the floor, but with his back to the Hokage.

"So I had this new flavour of ramen yesterday and I'm thinking of going with miso ramen today-" Naruto yammered at Sakura, who just nodded lazily and inputted with the occasional 'uh-huh' and 'alright then'.

"Silence!" Sarutobi yelled to get Naruto to pay attention. The team looked at him, apart from Naruto, and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry." He apologised, since he was also paying more attention to Naruto's ramen story than the third Hokage. Naruto turned on his butt, not getting off of the floor, and frowned at the Sandaime.

"Gah! You always lecture me like you're my Grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!" Naruto assured rebelliously. "I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" He finished, turning again and pouting wit his back to the Hokage.

"Hmm, I'm going to hear about this later." Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his silver-covered head while he pictured the near future. Iruka gaped at Naruto's display for a moment before smiling at the predicable complaining.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm." The Hokage chuckled, lifting his pipe into his mouth. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat and he wants a mission. So be it." He claimed.

Naruto's head perked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke also looked at the Hokage as if he had gone mad for giving into Naruto as easily as he was while Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked down at the stunned blonde sitting by her feet. Kakashi, for his part, looked mildly surprised but mostly curious about the choice the Hokage meant.

"You're giving us a real mission?" Naruto asked with eyes wide and hopeful as he did so.

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give the four of you a C-ranked mission instead. You'll be bodyguards on a journey." He informed them with a smile.

"Really?" Sakura asked uneasily.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess or some big league councillor? Maybe Sakura-chan is really an emperor's daughter and she was just watching us to see if we qualify for this mission! I always knew you were too pretty to be a ninja, Sakura-hime! Dattebayo!"

"Baka! I'm a fighter, not a princess!" The girl scolded.

"Right, right! You just don't want to blow your cover!" He nodded as if he were in complete understanding. "Now it's clear why she would spend time with _you_, teme." He whispered to Sasuke.

"She's not a princess, baka." Sasuke stated with a frown. "…Are you?" He added, not too sure himself.

"I AM NOT A PRINCESS!" Sakura screamed at them, causing the two boys to go flying across the room and into the wall. When they stood back in their original places, the Hokage continued.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto. If Sakura were a princess, we wouldn't have put her on a team with you. Now, be more patient. I will bring him in right now for you." Sarutobi told them with amusement. "Send in our visitor, if you will!" He called to a Chunin by the door. Team seven looked around to the door behind them as it swung open.

"What the? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" The man on the other side asked in annoyance as he surveyed the team of Genin and a single Jounin in front of him. Taking a few large gulps of the alcohol he had in his hands, the ninja of team seven took a chance to give him a proper look at.

He wore light brown trousers, which cut off at his ankles, and a black sleeveless shirt with a piece of purple cloth around it as a belt. The man was rather largely built with broad shoulders and a bit of a stomach, and his skin was tanned. A piece of rope was tied around his head for what seemed like no particular reason while his spiky hair and short beard were both grey. On his back was a large, black bag with a few tan coloured scroll at the top.

"Huh?" Naruto voiced as he looked at the unimpressive man.

"You're just baby ninja, aren't you?" The stranger continued. "As for you, the shortest one with the idiotic look on your face, do you really expect me to believe that you're a ninja?" He questioned.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed loudly, probably not realising that he was the one being spoken to. "Who's the shortest one with the idiotic look on…his…face?" He asked, looking from Sasuke to Sakura and back again until he finally got it. Both then straightened up to their full height. Naruto looked at them and saw that Sasuke was the tallest –by only a few centimetres-, and then it was Sakura and finally him…by a good few inches.

"Baka." The two muttered simultaneously before Sakura glared at the Uchiha for copying her and Sasuke just stared in return with a small tint of pink on his cheeks. Luckily, Sakura missed the blush.

"I'll demolish you!" Naruto cried as he tried to get fee from Kakashi's grip on the back of his jacket to flatten the man who insulted him.

"You can't 'demolish' the client, Naruto. it doesn't work that way." Kakashi informed him carelessly, as if he were telling him that the sky wasn't orange and rivers weren't made of ramen…which Sakura actually had to do last week. The man took another chug of his drink, acting like nothing was going on.

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country as soon as I can. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your own life in exchange for mine." He demanded.

[--

A shadowed figure jumped though the trees, the face completely unseen and at such speeds that it would take a great ninja to catch up to whoever this person was. They landed on the ground and sprinted across the forest floor, heading towards a clearing.

[--

At the gates of Konoha, team seven was just setting out with their new charge, Tazuna the bridge builder. Naruto was leading the pack with Sakura just behind him, Tazuna behind her and Kakashi and Sasuke coming up in the back. The blonde turned to face his travelling companions and cheered loudly.

"Yeah! Alright!" He yelled.

"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asked, in a tone that said she didn't care but would prefer to know than be in the dark about his source of happiness.

"This is the first time I've ever left the village!" The blonde pronounce, looking in every direction. "I'm a traveller now, Dattebayo! Sakura-chan, you must have left the village before now anyway, right?" He asked, now paying full attention to the girl. Sasuke also looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

"What makes you say that?" She asked airily.

"Its just; you were never in the village until two years ago, and then you just mysteriously showed up for class one day without a word of where you came from." Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah…I've been outside the village before. Big deal." She shrugged, closing her eyes and trying to ignore everyone.

"Wahoo! Now I'm a traveller just like Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, just as loudly as his first proclamation.

"Hey! Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt, that brooder and his girlfriend? He's nothing but an orange and blonde joke." Tazuna pointed out.

"Huh. They're all with me and I'm a Jounin, so you don't need to worry, sir." Kakashi assured him.

"_He's a joke!" "He's a joke!" "He's a joke!"_

Played though Naruto's head over and over as Sasuke tried to calm a raging Sakura. Not only did Tazuna insult Naruto, but he implied that the pinkette was Sasuke's girlfriend. Oh, blood was going to be spilt for her revenge!

'_NO ONE CALLS MY SASUKE-BAKA'S GIRLFRIEND! HE WILL DIE!' _Sakura raged inside her mind as she tried to get out of Sasuke's grip around her small waist.

'_**Cha! Sasuke-kun's girlfriend! Sakura and Sasuke! Sasuke and Sakura! That has a ring to it!'**_ Inner gushed, squeezing the life out of her Sasuke plushie.

'_Damn…she's strong!'_ Sasuke thought as he held tighter to her waist to stop her from killing their client.

'_Why did we have to get this old geezer to guard? I'm going to cut him down to size right now!'_ Naruto promised.

"Hey! Never insult a ninja! It's a big mistake to do something as stupid as that, old man!" The blonde yelled. "You should know that _I'm_ one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday, I'm going to be a Hokage and you'll have to look up to me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"

"Whatever." Tazuna muttered.

"And another thing! Sakura-chan is _not_ Sasuke-teme's girlfriend!" Naruto added, remembering what the old man had said before.

"That's not what it looks like to me." Tazuna replied, jabbing a thumb behind him to where Sasuke had his arms locked around Sakura's waist and his chin was rested on her shoulder. Sakura had stopped raging a few moments before, but she forgot Sasuke was holding her. Naruto gawked at the scene before growing angry.

"YOU TEME! SAKURA-CHAN IS MINE! DATTEBAYO!" He seethed.

"Naruto…what are you talking about?" Sakura questioned.

"HE'S GOT HIS ARMS ALL OVER YOU!" Naruto screamed. Sakura looked at him with a puzzled expression while Sasuke looked at Naruto with a lazy glare for reminding Sakura of his hold on her.

"Get off, Uchiha." She sighed, pulling his arms away from her and pushing the boy back before walking to Naruto.

"My mistake." Tazuna said with a wave of his hand. "She must be _you're_ girlfriend." He shrugged. Naruto blushed as Sakura's right eye twitched a little.

"I'M NOT ANYONE'S GIRLFRIEND! I'M A NINJA!" She screeched at him.

[--

The shadow covered figure continued to run on foot, though more of the green leaf covered trees and bushes. Whoever this person was then jumped up and though a hold in the canopy.

[--

Tazuna took another swig of his alcohol and observed Naruto with a cool gaze as Kakashi and Sasuke both held Sakura back from pummelling him with her biceps. No doubt that all four of the men present were noting to never get on her bad side.

"Hokage and powerful and wise…you are shrimpy and brainless. The day you become a Hokage is the day I'll sprout wings and fly." The bridge builder told Naruto nonchalantly.

"Argh! Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become a Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that _I'm_ the top ninja of Konoha…including you!" Naruto yelled, now getting thoroughly pissed off with the old man's words and how he uses every opportunity he can to put the boy down a few pegs in his self-confidence.

"Heh. You can become Hokage ten times over and to me you'll still be a no body with a pink-haired girlfriend." Tazuna scoffed.

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND, DAMMIT!"

"You'll always be a loser." He concluded. Naruto attempted to punch him, but Kakashi managed to let go of Sakura's arm in time to catch the boy's collar as Sasuke shifted to hold Sakura's waist again, just to stop her from beating the bridge-builder to within an inch of his life.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that right now!" Naruto promised, flailing his arms around with his hands clenched into fists.

"I told you; you're supposed to _protect_ the client, not _attack_ him." Kakashi said in a worn and tired tone, obviously getting fed up of saying this same thing over and over again.

"Try telling that to Naruto's girlfriend." Sasuke taunted as he struggled to keep a grip on Sakura, who then turned and punched him right in the face for his comment…hard.

"Well, now I feel better." She said with a smirk as Sasuke wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth and glared at her.

Tazuna, not really interested in anything going on, began to walk down the road again.

In the tree over-looking the scene of Sasuke and Sakura fighting as Naruto tried to free himself from Kakashi's grip and punch the bridge builder for the insults, the shadowed figure landed on a large branch.

Two faces looked on from inside of on black cloak, both of which had black masks and the symbol for the village hidden in the mist on their Hatei-ates, which were strapped securely to their foreheads.

[--

"Oi! Tazuna-san!" Sakura called to the old man as they walked along a dirt road though the forest.

"What is it?" He answered gruffly.

"Your country is the land of waves, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna replied, looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and hate. It was an obvious fact by now that Sakura and Tazuna weren't going to get along.

"Just wanted to see if you _really_ came from that pathetic place or if you were just lying back there." She shrugged, smirking when Tazuna choked on his own spit, growled a little and clenched his fists.

"Pathetic? What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously. In return, Sakura's smirk grew wider.

"It's just that I travelled though there before on my way to Konoha two years ago. They have no ninja to protect them." She informed him, raising an eyebrow when Tazuna growled louder. "Poor, poor Tazuna-san lives in one of the few countries that have no ninja to fall back on in a time of need."

"Eh? I don't get it." He said, rubbing his blonde head in confusion.

"Let me explain it you, Naruto." Kakashi intervened when Sakura said nothing. "In other countries, there are hidden villages, each with there own different customs and cultures, where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means strength; military strength."

"In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighbouring countries." Sakura explained when she saw the still confused look on Naruto's face.

"Right." Kakashi nodded. "The ninja villages are not controlled by any government. They're independent and have equal status. Now, a small island like the land of waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. Each ninja village has a 'Kage' to rule over them and it is that Kage's job to keep peace with other countries."

"Oh! I get it now! So the Hokage is really important then!" Naruto proclaimed, grinning wildly.

'_**Humph! Is that old man really that important? I'm not buying it for one second!'**_ Inner Sakura stated as she remembered back to when she, Naruto and Hinata were in his office just after Naruto got told to re-do his ninja photo.

[--

_The clouds around Naruto almost fully cleared, leaving him behind in his 'sexy no jutsu' form like yesterday with Iruka. Sakura, still with her eyes closed, growled softly while Hinata just sat their. She didn't know what was going on, but was confident that her friends would tell her later._

"_Pretty please, lord Hokage?" Naruto asked in his girl form with a voice to match, Sakura scoffed, but kept her eyes closed._

_The Hokage took one look at 'Naruko', which is the name Naruto gave to his female look, and he yelled as he fell back in his chair, stunned by what he had just seen and heard. Naruto transformed back and just stared at the Hokage, now knowing that he was a pervert amongst the rest._

"_Naruto?" Sakura asked irritated._

"_Oh! Sorry, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan. You two can look now." He told them, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Sakura walked passed him on the way to her own seat and hit him gently in the back of his head before noticing the Hokage on the floor._

"_Um?" She asked, Hinata nodding in agreement with the 'question'._

"_I used sexy no jutsu and he fell backwards." Naruto told them. The Hokage got up and wiped his nose, trying to regain his dignity._

[--

"Hey!" Kakashi call. "You all just doubted lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking." He stated, getting it right the first time he guessed. Naruto shook his head like mad while Sasuke and Sakura just stood still.

"Whatever. It's pretty basic, Naruto. See…we have Konoha and they have, um, what was it again? Oh yeah…nothing." Sakura taunted, making sure Tazuna could hear her.

"Do you have something against me or my country, brat?" Tazuna snapped, holding a fist towards the pinkette.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Both you _and_ your country piss me off. You because of your attitude towards Naruto and the rest of us and your country because of what I saw two years ago!" She bit back.

"Hey, calm down!" Kakashi ordered. "There may not be any ninja battles in a C-ranked mission, but we should try to remain calm here." He said, placing his hand on Sakura's head to stop her verbal abuse.

Tazuna's eyes narrowed at those words as Kakashi chuckled. Sasuke turned around to face his sensei. Naruto pouted, wanting to fight ninja and not just walk to a country and back as Sakura rolled her eyes and swatted Kakashi's hand away from her head.

[--

The group were still walking, now having come to a small but deep river, and were just crossing a bridge at that moment. Naruto was still in the lead but Tazuna was behind him rather than Sakura and then Kakashi, since the others had voted t keep the old man and the young girl separated. Sasuke and Sakura were walking side-by-side at the back, just in case he needed to hold her back from hitting the elder man.

Once they were over the bridge, they didn't feel any need to travel in a line any more and so Naruto had slowed his pace and taken the left side of Sakura as his walking area while Sasuke remained firmly on her right, refusing to leave her side. Kakashi and Tazuna walked next to each other just a little way ahead of the Genin.

As they walked passed a puddle, only Sakura and Kakashi cast a spare look towards it. No rain had fallen recently enough for it to appear as if a storm had just passed, so it seemed a bit odd to them as to the reason a puddle would be in the middle of the road. Also, that puddle was the only one anywhere in sight.

Ripples appeared in the puddle once the entire Konoha group had passed it and a black hair-covered head lifted out of the surface of the water. Soon following it was the entire body of a man, covered in a large black cloak with the bottom half of his face hidden under a gas mask. His hair showed, but half of it was perfectly combed and neat while the other was wild and un-brushed.

The one man split into two as one of them jumped up with a silver chain in his head, travelling at a great speed. The chain was attached to a metal hand-cover that each of the men was wearing, and they wrapped the spiked metal chain around Kakashi's body, since he was the easiest to attack from where they were.

"Huh?" Naruto asked in shock.

"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned, shielding his eyes from the dust that the men gather from their speed.

"I have to stop them!" Sakura cried as the dist cleared.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed in worry over the life of the one man protecting them.

"Yeah!" On of the men cheered.

"Let's do it!" The other prompted.

Everyone looked on in shock as Kakashi's one visible eye widened a little and the two men moved again, pulling the chains tighter and tighter around his large form until he was completely torn apart. Blood covered the ground and splashed on the faces of the two men, who seemed unaffected by the result of their attack.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, wanting to do something…anything that would save him and make it so what just happened would undo itself. The two men appeared behind Naruto and laughed.

"Now it's your turn." One stated to the blonde.

They came at him with the same chain that had been used to rip Kakashi apart only moments ago, fully intending on killing the Kyuubi vessel before he got the change to do anything. All Naruto could do was stare at them in a mixture of shock and fear as they came closer and closer.

Sasuke acted quickly and out of pure instinct, using a shuriken to pin the chain to the tree nearest before it could wrap around and kill Naruto. He then used a kunai to reinforce the hold the shuriken already had on the chain, just to make sure they couldn't use it.

"Argh! I can't get loose!" The man with straight hair complained as both he and the look-alike with messy hair pulled on the chain to free it from the tree. Naruto stared in awe at Sasuke as the Uchiha landed on the metal claws covering the hands of the mist ninja. He then took a good grip on their arms and kicked their faces, causing them to go back until the chain snapped.

Both then ran from Sasuke and one aimed once more for Naruto as the other ran at Tazuna. Sakura, using all the speed she could muster, moved in front of Tazuna with a kunai ready in hand, ready to risk her own life for his as he had stated they should do back with the Hokage.

The Uchiha's head turned in her direction as the man lifted a clawed hand to attack her and he grew angry for reasons he couldn't explain. Every movement and every breath seemed to slow down as the claw got closer and closer to the pinkette. Sasuke, not knowing what he was doing, moved in front of her with his arms spread and his eyes glaring at the one who would hurt her.

A hit that could and probably would kill him was on its way and all Sasuke could think was that at least Sakura would be okay. Not a second before impact, the man was grabbed around the neck by none other than their previously 'dead and torn apart' sensei, Kakashi. This same sensei also had the other man in a tight grip with his second arm.

Naruto was on the floor, still awaiting him impending doom, when he heard a gasp from on of the mist men and looked up. He gaped at the silver-haired man as he single-handedly took down both of the threats in less than a minuet of showing up again.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted casually as he held the two men.

'_Thank Kami-sama that he's alright.'_ Sakura sighed mentally.

'_**You sound like you care.'**_ Inner noted, not mockingly but slightly happy by it.

'…_I don't…he's just needed for my plan to work.'_ She thought as a scowl met her face. _'And Sasuke needs to learn that I can defend myself.'_ The girl added as she looked at the back of her team mate.

'_Hn. Show-off.'_ Sasuke thought with a scowl as Kakashi stole the attention he could have gotten from Sakura for saving her life at the risk of his own.

"Huh? But he was-" Naruto started, looking towards the place Kakashi's remains fell. All that he saw now were an assortment of different sized logs in odd locations. "Kakashi-sensei…used the replacement jutsu."

"Naruto…sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt or anything, I just didn't think that you'd freeze up like you did back there." Kakashi stated to the frightened blonde.

'_They saved me after all.'_ Tazuna thought with a sigh of relief. _'This little brat…Sakura was even willing to risk her life for me.'_ He added, casting a glance at the frowning preteen.

"Good job, Sasuke. Very smooth." Kakashi complimented, walking towards the Uchiha, Sakura and Tazuna. "You too, Sakura."

'_I was useless…'_ Naruto thought in disbelief. _'And Sasuke acted so cool, like he'd done this a thousand times! Didn't he feel scared at all? He looked so calm. There's not a scratch on him! And what about Sakura-chan? She was great and Sasuke even protected her! She's gonna like him more than me now!'_ He said mentally, growing worried.

"Hey." Sasuke called calmly.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, ready to become defensive. Sasuke looked at him was a mocking smirk.

"You're not hurt, are ya?" He questioned tauntingly. "Scaredy cat."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, ready to fight him.

"Naruto." Kakashi calling out in a hurried tone. "Stand still. These ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly." Naruto grew worried, looking at the cut on his hand. "We'll have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood, so don't move around; that spreads the poison. By the way, Tazuna-san."

"Ugh…y-yeah, what?" Tazuna replied shakily.

"We need to talk." Kakashi stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

[--

Kakashi now had the mist ninja tied to a tree with everyone surrounding it, on guard in case of a surprise attack. Sasuke was standing on the far left with Sakura to his right, then Kakashi next to her, then Tazuna and finally Naruto on the far right.

"These ninja are two Chunin from the land hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed carefully. "Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

"How did you know about our ambush?" One of the two tied against the tree asked the Jounin suspiciously.

"A puddle…on a clear day? When it hasn't rained in weeks?" Kakashi pointed out.

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna questioned.

"I could have taken them out quickly." Kakashi boasted. "However, if that were the case, I would've learned nothing. I had to know who their target was, if there was a target, and what they're after."

"Hm? What are you getting at?" The bridge builder questioned.

"This. I wanted to know if they were targeting us –ninja attacking ninja- or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you first put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen." The silver-haired man stated. "You didn't mention that there were ninja after you; hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B-ranked mission or higher, depending on the level and number of ninja after you. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finish building your bridge."

"Meaning that we weren't supposed to be fighting other ninja along the way, for your information." Added an agitated Sakura.

"Quite right, Sakura. If we knew that we should be expecting attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-ranked mission. Apparently, you have your reasons. But lying to us is unacceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." The concluded.

"We're _Genin_. This is too advanced for our level of training!" Sakura yelled at him as she observed Naruto's injured hand while holding it for her to see as delicately as possible.

"Naruto's hand could become a problem." Kakashi stated when he saw Sakura looking over the wound. "I guess we should go back to the village." He decided. Naruto's breathing grew heavier as he pulled his hand away from Sakura and used the other to grab a kunai. Everyone grew shocked as he drove the kunai though his hand.

"Why am I so different?" Naruto asked himself. "Why am I always…argh!"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, running to him. "Stop that right now!"

"I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours…anything to get stronger. Just to reach my dream." He said as he remembered all of the extra training he did at home. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke." With these words, Sasuke looked at him with mild awe. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Dattebayo. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with my life. A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"

"Naruto…er…that was really, um, cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood…you're going to die." Sakura stated calmly as she looked at him with a small smirk. "It would be a good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SAVE ME! HELP! I DON'T WANNA DIE HERE!" Naruto yelled loudly.

"Pff, show me your hand." Sakura ordered. Naruto stopped his whining and held his hand out for her, which she grabbed. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the cut, which was burning with orange chakra and reducing in size fast.

'_His wound…it's already healing!'_ She thought in amazement with a hard expression adorning her features.

"Ummm." Naruto began, getting her attention. "You have a really serious look on your face. You're scaring me. Am I going to die?"

"Uhh, no. you should be a-okay!" She smiled fakely. Everyone looked at her and she just looked down to his hand again, wrapping it and some bandages from her pouch.

'_This healing power…I know it is from the Kyuubi. It's so amazingly fast that he should be fine in a matter of minuets. I also know that the more Naruto uses the Kyuubi's chakra, the easier the seal around its cage would be to break. He doesn't know it, but every day Naruto is getting closer and closer to being taken over by the fox. I...I don't want to lose him.'_ She thought with a mental sob, her emotions taking control for a while with the thought of losing Naruto.

Without any forewarning or explanation to the blonde or her team, Sakura jumped forwards and held Naruto in a tight hug. Not wanting to let go, Sakura rested her head on his shoulder and held on even tighter than before. She was acting as if letting go meant that he would leave and never come back, but everyone else didn't know that.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in wonder. Sakura lifted her head and pulled away from her one-sided hug before taking a few steps away from Naruto and turning her back on everyone.

"Let's get going already! We've wasted enough time here!" She barked, walking quickly in the direction of wave country.

Naruto looked down on his jacket where Sakura had rested her head and saw a small patch of the orange was darker than the rest and, when he ran a hand over it, it felt a bit damp. She had cried.


	6. Assassins and Kekkei Genkai

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and waited for this chapter. To make up for time, I put three chapters in this so you have a lot to read lol :D**

**For anyone who's interested, th votes are as follows:**

**NaruSaku in the lead with...23!**

**ItaSaku rounding second with a great...7!**

**Tied for third is SakuCentric and NaruHina with...2!**

**And last (all with 1) is No shipping, KyuuSaku, KyuuHina, NaruOC**

**Yes! You can vote for Inner!Sakura X Kyuubi!Naruto (even though no one asked about it)**

**Enjoy!  
**

Chapter Six

Assassin of the Mist

The waters below the small wooden boat team seven, Tazuna and another man were in shifted slightly, causing large ripples as they passed. Nothing that would tip the boat, but enough to make the weak of stomach toss their breakfast over the side…a few hours after they had eaten it.

Mist surrounded them and covered the sea, creating a cloak of invisibility around them, which they used to their advantage. They had left the engine off, for precautionary purposes.

"This fog is thick." Sasuke stated, growing bored of the silence. It was ironic that, for once, he was the one who wished the slightly awkward silence would end.

"I guess." Sakura acknowledged with a shrug before all became silent again.

Sakura had been acting colder than usual most of the time, but then would surprise everyone by showing emotion. Nothing too big though, for it would scare all of the men if she did something like, oh, I don't know; smile?

Sasuke, on the other hand, hadn't really changed from his stoic look and teasing Naruto for the fear he showed. Although, the teasing mostly stopped when Sakura punched him though a tree for calling Naruto a scared-baka-baby.

She then revealed the reason for her punch before anyone began to think that she actually cared.

In her exact words; "Only _I_ am allowed to pick on Naruto, Sasuke-teme."

Good times.

Naruto sat at the front of the boat, looking in front of them for any signs of land. His back was turned to everyone else and his legs were crossed as he made no noise and didn't move.

He hadn't, in fact, moved from that position since they all got into the boat, with the exception of hugging Sakura when she pushed Sasuke off the boat about an hour ago for flicking Naruto's ear.

"The bridge isn't far now." The man steering the boat told them quietly as he could over the noise. "Our destination is just ahead. The Land of Waves." He added, looking up at the incomplete bridge.

The blonde at the front perked his head up, but the furthest he could see was the front of the boat, which was only a few inches in front of him. He frowned and squinted his eyes, trying to see properly, but it was in vain as the fog didn't let him see any further than that. Naruto remained patience, and soon enough he could see the bridge as they went under it.

It was mostly done, but parts of it were missing and needed finishing, but the bridge looked good so far. Sakura, frowning for a reason the boys couldn't understand, crawled next to Naruto and closed her eyes.

The blonde sent her a questioning look, but then noticed that her breathing was heavier than usual. In fact, it looked like she was trying to control her anger or something.

He reached out and took a gentle grip on her wrist, trying to make her feel better. What surprised him was that Sasuke also noticed this and placed his pale hand on her shoulder lightly.

However, the real shock came to both of the boys on team seven when Sakura opened her eyes, looked at the two without a glare or anything of the sort and didn't pull away as they thought she would.

Never the less, she calmed and the three looked back up at the bridge in a mix of different reactions. Cranes were present on the parts of the bridge that were completed, lifting metal bars and such, while signs and warning were posted across the entrance to warn people that only working personnel could go on the bridge at that moment in time.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Naruto gushed in awe as he grinned widely and became excited. Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing that his 'serious' face wouldn't last. Sasuke just scoffed.

"What? Quiet!" The man steering scolded him in hushed anger. "I told you, no noise! Why do you think we're travelling like this? Huh? Cutting off the engine and rowing? Moving through the dense fog, so they don't see us."

Naruto's hands went up to his mouth and covering it so he wouldn't say anything else as Sasuke looked at the man speaking. Sakura, however, looked at the bridge without breaking her eyes away from it, frowning at the implication of his words.

"Tazuna-san." Kakashi began. "Before we reach the pier, I want to ask you something."

"Huh? What da ya want?" Tazuna asked quietly, looking down rather than facing any of the people he travelled with.

"The men who are after you; I need to know why. If you don't tell us, then I'm afraid I'll have to end this mission as soon as we're done dropping you ashore." The silver haired man warned.

"Hmmm." Tazuna considered. Everyone, with the exception of the man rowing the boat and Sakura, looked at the bridge builder in wait of his answer to Kakashi's enquiry.

"Well?" Naruto prompted.

"I guess I have no choice but to tell you." The old man sighed.

"No duh." Sakura muttered, resting her elbow on the side of the boat and her chin in her palm. Naruto and Sasuke, who heard what she had said, sniggered slightly but still listened to the man's words.

"No…I _want_ you to know the truth. Like you said, Kakashi-san, this _is_ beyond the scope of the original mission. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me." He sighed. Sakura, who felt that the last statement was directed at her –he _was_ staring at her as he said it- paid more attention than she did before.

"Go on." Sakura nodded, giving him her full attention.

"Very well. The one who seeks my life is a very short man who casts a very long and deadly shadow." He paused.

"A deadly shadow?" Kakashi asked, half in disbelief. "Hmm…who is it?"

"You know him…at least I'm almost positive that you've heard his name spoken before." He said. "He's one of the wealthiest men in the world…the shipping magnet, Gato."

"Huh? Gato? Of Gato transport?" Kakashi questioned, his eyes…eye widening slightly. "He's a business leader…everyone knows him."

"Who, who? What, what?" Naruto asked in his usual hyper way.

"Gato. He's a famous tycoon from a well known company that's true. But below the surface…with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations…he sells drugs and contraband, using gangs and ninja to do his bidding. I'm sure you know about that, Haruno." He mocked the kunoichi, who looked at him sharply.

"I don't do drugs, Tazuna." Sakura stated nastily, sending him one of her infamous glares. He froze, but soon relaxed and continued his story.

"It happened one year ago, when Gato first set his sights on the Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who tried to stand in his way simply disappeared." He sighed.

"Well, what's so bad about that? Just leave him and he'll leave you. it can't be as bad as you claim. Dattebayo." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Wrong, midget! In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything! Finance, government and our very lives." He informed the blonde angrily. He then looked thoughtful and continued. "But, there _is_ one thing even Gato fears."

"What? Having Naruto mistaken him for a dessert and for the baka to eat him alive?" Sakura guessed. Tazuna glared at her and carried on.

"_Strangely enough; no_." He commented sarcastically.

"Really? well, you're such a cry baby I wouldn't have been surprised. Wait, his fear is cry babies like you? maybe that's why he wants you dead." She said with a smirk.

"No!" Tazuna exploded.

"Well, what about your '_sweet little grandson_'? is he an even bigger cry baby than you?" She commented, loving to tease the old man.

"Shut up!" He replied.

"Right, no one can be a bigger cry baby than you." She sighed, sitting back and deciding that she had said enough.

"You done?" He asked her. Sakura nodded. "Not that your suggestions weren't _fantastic_, but Gato doesn't fear any of that. He fears only the bridge." Tazuna stated in a 'scary' voice.

"Wow…it's a…bridge?" Sakura mocked in fake wonderment.

"Shut up! When it is complete, it will join us to the land and _that_ will break his control. _That_ is what he fears. Also, _I_ am the bridge builder in charge of this whole thing." He finished.

"So that's it. Since you're in charge of the bridge, you're standing in this gangster's way." Sakura concluded for the sake of the blonde on her team, who was utterly confused.

"Then that means that those guys we fought in the forest…they were working for Gato." Sasuke added, looking at Sakura as she stared into the water below them.

"Uhh? Hmmm." Naruto said, acting like he got it.

"I don't understand." Kakashi admitted. "If you knew that this man was dangerous…_knew _that he would send ninja to eliminate you, _why_ did you _hide_ that from us?"

"Because…the Land of Waves…is a small nation in poverty. Even our _nobles_ have little money." He confessed sadly. "The common people building this bridge; they can't pay for an A or B ranked mission. It's just too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I even reach home."

"Here is comes." Sasuke groaned as they all waited for what they knew was coming.

"Yep…the waterworks." Sakura sighed. Sure enough, Tazuna adopted a sad face with an upset voice to match.

"_But_…don't feel bad about that. Of course, my sweet little grandson would be upset. He'll cry; '_Grandpa! I want my Grandpa!'_." He mimicked.

"Ugh! Not this again!" Naruto and Sakura said together. "Oi! Stop that! I mean it! Stop copying me! Stop!" The two 'friends' carried on until Naruto had grabbed the pinkette's cheek and stretched it while Sakura was beginning to pull on Naruto's spiky yellow hair roughly.

"Ehem." Sasuke cleared his throat, a little angry about the attention Naruto was getting from Sakura.

The two stopped their fight and sat back again as if nothing even happened.

"Right…where was I in my fake rant? Oh yeah! My daughter will condemn the ninja of the hidden leaf village; denouncing and blaming you for abandoning her father and living her life in sorrow." He continued in false woe.

"Oh boy." Naruto groaned.

"Tell me about it." Sakura agreed.

"Hn." Sasuke added helpfully.

"Ah well. It's not your fault. Forget it." He assured. The ninja of team seven sighed in relief and Kakashi rubbed the metal of his Hatei-ate a little bit.

"Well, I guess we have no other choice." He stated, causing his team to groan in annoyance. "We'll have to keep guarding you."

"Oh! I'm very grateful." He said in mock happiness. _'I win!'_ The man added in his mind, flashing a peace sign.

'_I am surrounded by bakas.'_ Sakura groaned mentally.

'_**This grandson…what if he's older than us? Or our age? What if he's hot?! I MUST KNOW!'**_ Inner declared.

'…_Yep…surrounded.'_

[--

They had been riding on the boat for about fifteen more minuets in complete boredom. Naruto suggested that they play 'eye spy', but that stopped when he used nothing other than 'water' and 'a boat', sometimes even 'fog'. Let's just say, Sakura got very annoyed while Sasuke's eye didn't stop twitching.

"We're approaching the shore." The unnamed man (who I will call 'Bob' from this moment on) told them as they drew closer to the pier. "Tazuna, we've been very fortunate. No one has noticed us so far." Bob (I warned you, didn't I?) added to the bridge builder.

"Nice going." Tazuna congratulated him.

They passed under an arch and, when they came out the other side, the ninja were surprised to be welcomed by bright sun and blue skies. There were trees and other plants sprouting up from the water with bright green leaves and the sounds of seagulls filled the air.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed in joy.

"I guess this place hasn't changed much at all." Sakura noticed, looking around with a small smirk on her angelically demonic features.

The boat soon stopped and Bob told everyone to get out.

"Beauty before age, sensei!" Sakura called as she jumped ahead of Kakashi and got out first.

"Cool before perverted!" Naruto yelled.

"Thanks, dobe." Sasuke smirked, stepping out next to Sakura before Naruto got the chance to.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The blonde growled.

"Skill before clumsiness." Kakashi stated happily, stepping out of the boat before Naruto too.

"I'm leaving now because I'm cool that way!" Tazuna said, flashing another peace sign before leaving Naruto in the boat with Bob.

"Well, I'm not going because this my job! God, it sucks! But hey, I'm only am easily forgotten character in this series with limited lines and a single appearance without a real name to speak of!" Bob told them. Naruto grumbled and got out last.

"Whatever." Naruto muttered, standing next to Sakura too.

"That's as far as I go." Bob said to Tazuna and the rest.

"Right." The bridge builder acknowledged. "Thank you for taking such a risk."

"Just be careful." Bob warned as he started up the motor, crouched down on one knee and left them on the pier.

"Okay, take me to my home, and I mean get me there as fast as you can while keeping me in one piece." Tazuna ordered.

"Right." Kakashi said as every turned and began to walk off the pier, towards the man's home. _'The next ninja they send will defiantly not be just a mere Chunin. They'll be Jounin. An elite ninja with deadly skills. Oh boy. I need a vacation already.'_

[--

So far the ninja had made it into another forest, since Tazuna had to be awkward and decided to locate his home in the middle of a forest, and they were travelling along a forest path.

Naruto once again lead their small team, with Sasuke and Sakura walking behind him side-by-side and Kakashi and Tazuna following in a similar way.

Of course, Sasuke couldn't be happy with letting Naruto take the lead, so he sped up to prove to Sakura that he was faster than Naruto was. The latter noticed the challenge and groaned mentally.

'_I'm not letting Sasuke get all the glory this time! Dattebayo!'_ He thought with a frown. Naruto ran ahead of Sasuke, taking the lead again and doing a mental victory dance.

He looked around carefully, looking for any signs of danger, before grabbing a kunai in his hand and looking over to a certain bush by the side of the road.

"Over there!" He yelled, throwing the kunai into the bush. Everyone looking in question as to why Naruto threw the kunai, but most expected it to be an attack by an enemy ninja or something.

"Naruto…what is it?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Hm. It was just a mouse." He stated proudly.

"Mouse? Yeah right! You're so obvious that it's embarrassing for me to call you a fri…er…forget it." Sakura sighed. Everyone did, however, notice her slip of tongue and how she almost called Naruto her 'friend'.

'_**Cha! Naru-chan is more than a friend!'**_

'_Shut up you!'_

'_**Aw man! You guys agree with me…right?'**_ Inner asked the others in Sakura's mind.

'_**We sure do!**__**'**_ A chorus of thirteen voices agreed.

'_Shut up!'_ She hissed to all of them.

'_**MEAN!**__**'**_

"Naruto! Those are kunai knives! They're dangerous." Kakashi scolded as Tazuna growled.

"STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME, YOU SCRUFFY LITTLE DWARF!" Tazuna screamed at the young boy.

"Hey! Is someone hiding over there?" Naruto asked; he was ignoring Tazuna and paying attention to the bush he just threw a dangerous weapon at. "No! They're over there! Over there!" He yelled, throwing another kunai into a different bush.

"Knock it off, baka!" Sakura told him, hitting him over the head for good measure.

"Wh-Why'd you do that? Someone really is following us! I mean it!" The blonde assured his friend as he rubbed his head.

"I know, but that's not important." She muttered so no one would hear her. Kakashi walked to the bush Naruto had thrown the kunai in and saw a white rabbit in shock.

"A rabbit! Ahh!" He cried, running to the small creature. "I'm sorry, little rabbit! I'm sorry!"

"All this fuss over a rodent?" Tazuna asked grumpily. Sakura looked at the rabbit and her eyes narrowed.

'_That is a snow rabbit.'_ Kakashi noted. _'But the colour…they only have white fur during winter. When the days are short and there is little sunlight.'_

'_No way! A white rabbit! They only appear in winter!'_ Sakura thought.

'_**I know! This needs to be investigated further! Cha!'**_ Inner cried, shaking her fist.

Kakashi looked all over the clearing, Sakura doing the same, for any signs of why the rabbit would be white rather than brown this time of year. It would only mean that the rabbit was kept in captivity or something, which would imply that it wasn't the only thing out of place in this forest.

A man watched them from a near-by tree. He observed what was happening down below with the rabbit, his eyes travelling across the ninja he knew to be from Konohagakure. However, the man's gaze lingered on Kakashi and Sakura the longest, but especially Kakashi.

Both of the ninja mentioned previously looked up to where he was hiding.

'_So they are all ready here.'_ Kakashi noticed.

'_What do I do?'_ Sakura wondered.

'_**Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!'**_ Inner cheered.

'_If you say so.'_ Sakura agreed with a smirk, getting whoops of joy from her inner self and most of the fourteen voices.

'_Hmm. No wonder the demon brothers failed in their mission.'_ The man in the tree thought as he reached for the sword on his back. _'They had to deal with the copy ninja of Konohagakure, Kakashi the Sharingan master, without knowledge of him. And that girl…if my memory serves me right, that symbol on each of her shoulders represents the Haruno clan. Her eyes could get me a lot of money on the black market.'_

The stranger jumped from the branch with great speed, descending to the ground faster than you could blink. Kakashi noticed this before he landed and turned his body to the branch fully, shocked out of his mind.

"Look out!" He yelled to his team, Naruto looking up from hugging the small white rabbit to give his sensei and curious glance. Sakura's eyes widened and she ran to her friend and dark-haired team mate, both of whom didn't know what was going on.

A ridiculously large blade swung out of a tree and headed in Tazuna's direction, but Sakura tackled him to the ground with her right hand, taking down Sasuke with her left and Naruto with her feet, before it could strike its target down dead. It struck a tree and remained in its new location as the man from the branch landed on its hilt, his bare back facing the ninja.

On his arms were white arm warmers with black spots, going from his wrists to his armpit. His feet had the same warmers over black sandals, going to his knees and having grey and black striped trousers tucking into the tops. His chest was bare and a blue scarf strap was secured around his neck and the top of his trousers while the bottom half of his face was covered with bandages and his Hatei-ate –displaying the symbol for the village hidden in the mist- sat sideways on his head. The hair on his head, which spiked out to the side and sat around the Hatei-ate, was jet black while his narrow, naturally scowling eyes were piercing brown.

'_That must be…'_ Kakashi thought, trailing off at the end.

'_Here it is! My chance to shine, Dattebayo! I'm ready this time! I'm so not going to lose to Sasuke-teme!'_ Naruto said mentally with a wide smile.

'_**OM MY GOD! HE IS SO HOT! LOOK AT THOSE MUSCELS AND THAT CHEST! SHANNARO!'**_ Inner Sakura screamed, deep in fangirl mode.

"Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza. Rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed nonchalantly.

'_Rogue ninja? Whatever! Nothing is gonna stop me! Ready? Go!'_ Naruto yelled in his mind as he began charging towards Zabuza.

Kakashi –not wanting Naruto to harm himself- held his arm out to stop the young boy from going any further. Naruto was surprised by this and looked up to his sensei for an explanation.

"You're in the way." Kakashi stated bluntly. "Get back." He ordered, not taking his eye off of the rogue-nin.

"But why?" Naruto complained.

"He's not like those other ninja. This man is in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, then I'll need this." The older man told him calmly, reaching up to his Hatei-ate. "This could be traitorous."

"Kakashi, the Sharingan eye." Zabuza said, not really to anyone. "Did I get that right?"

'_Wha? No way!'_ Sasuke thought.

"It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man. And the girl with you too." The rogue ninja ordered.

'_Uhh, Sharingan? What's that?'_ Naruto asked himself._ 'And…he wants SAKURA-CHAN? NOT GONNA HAPPEN!'_ He added.

'_Kakashi-sensei…he's not an Uchiha, is he?'_ Sakura frowned.

'_**Shara-whobee-whatta?'**_ Inner added in confusion.

"Now quick! Shield formation! Protect the bridge builder and stay out of this fight. Sakura, be careful." Kakashi ordered them.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"I taught you three teamwork, now use it!" He barked at his team of young ninja. Zabuza narrowed his eyes as Kakashi lifted the Hatei-ate over his eye and let it rest on his forehead.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked out loud.

His left eye was closed at the moment and had a dark scar running over the lid and onto his cheek, going upwards to his eyebrow. When Kakashi opened his eyes, it was red with a black outline and had three black tomoe surrounding where the pupil would go. Said pupil was still there, but smaller than a normal one.

"I'm ready!" The silver haired team leader stated firmly.

"Heh, there it is." Zabuza said, looking at but not into the eye.

'_Ah! His eye; what is that?'_ Naruto asked in his head.

'_**Cha! Zabuza-kun has such a strong and manly voice! He's so hot and his voice is so deep and cool!'**_ Inner cheered.

'_Look at that…the Sharingan.'_ Sakura thought, staring speechlessly into the eye of her sensei.

'_**Huh? Oh yeah…that's nice too.'**_

"Well, looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is truly an honour." Zabuza said to the red-eye man.

"Everyone keeps saying 'Sharingan, Sharingan'. Will someone please tell me what Sharingan is?" Naruto pleaded. Sakura remained silent, still looking at the eye with her mouth agape.

"Sharingan." Sasuke stated. "It's a rare power that resides in the eyes of the one using it. The user if this visual jutsu, or dojutsu, can instantly see and comprehend any ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. They can also reflect the attack back on the attacker. The Sharingan is a special, _rare_ form of dojutsu. However, there's more to the Sharingan than that. A lot more."

'_Huh.'_ Naruto thought, looking at his spacing-out female team mate as he took in the words of the other.

"You got it right, boy. But you only scratched the surface." Zabuza told them.

"The…surface?" Naruto repeated in question.

"The Sharingan can also analyze an opponent's technique and then copy it to the smallest detail." Zabuza added as the area was covered in a dense fog. "As for you, Jounin. In the assassination unit of the hidden mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. A Haruno too…well, I guess I'm just lucky."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as Zabuza took the sword from the tree and moved quickly. The three Genin standing in a circle around Tazuna looked around for him as Kakashi remained still. He came up to the right of them all, standing calmly.

"He's over there!" Naruto yelled.

"He's standing on the water." Sasuke added. True enough, Zabuza was stood on the water with his left arm in the air and his right in a chakra gathering sign in front of him.

'_He is building up a huge amount of chakra.'_ Kakashi noticed.

"Kiri Gakure no Jutsu!" Zabuza said, performing the jutsu thatenveloped the surrounding area in a dense mist, causing anyone within to lose the advantage of sight.

"He vanished." Naruto stated in wonder.

"No, he didn't." Kakashi stated.

"Of course he did!" Naruto claimed.

"He's just hidden in the mist. Don't worry about it though; he won't target you, Naruto. He'll come after me first…then Sakura." Kakashi informed the rest of his travelling companions, stepping in front of his students and in the direction Zabuza was last seen by him and the rest of them.

"I have a question…who the _hell_ is that guy? Why is he after me?" Sakura asked in aggravation.

"Momochi Zabuza, the ex-leader of the Kirigakure secret assassination unit. Sorry, but I have no idea as to why he's after you, Sakura. He's a master of the silent killing technique all assassins prize, though." He explained.

"S-S-Silent?" Naruto questioned shakily.

"As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without sound or a warning of any kind. It's so fast; you pass from this life without realising what happened. Even the Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard." Kakashi warned. "Well, if we fail we only lose our lives, after all." He added with a shrug.

"Shut up! I can't think! Everyone be quiet or I'll cut out your tongues and use them as dog food!" Sakura yelled with her eyes screwed shut. All of the men near her –with the exception of Zabuza- gulped at the obvious threat. Sakura just ignored them.

'_Think! Think! Think! Think! Think! Should I use it?!'_ She asked her inner self desperately.

'_**No, you should wait until you're dead! Of course you have to use it, baka!'**_ Inner yelled back.

'_I'm serious! This is bad! He could be after me for my kekkei genkai, and then I'll just be digging myself a hole. If he's not, then I could put my team in danger for my paranoia!'_

'_**Use the force, Luke…er…Sakura.' **_Inner told her. Sakura nodded her head slightly and put the kunai in her hand back into her pouch.

"Sakura-chan! What are you doing?" Naruto asked in worry.

"Now is not the time to play hero, Sakura!" Kakashi scolded her.

"Get your kunai back out!" Sasuke demanded.

"Are you trying to risk my life?" Tazuna questioned in almost fear of her seemingly useless actions.

"Please…I'm practically begging you here, Naruto! Whatever you do, don't look at my eyes!" Sakura asked turning to face Naruto.

"Why not?" He asked in confusion.

"Just don't! You either, Sasuke!" She warned, placing her hands together in the correct seals. "Please, don't. Promise me."

"I'm not making any promises I might not keep, Sakura-chan." Naruto told her.

"Me either." Sasuke grunted.

"Fine then, don't. Just…try not to look. Tiger!" She yelled, performing the sign. "Dragon! Snake! Kanjoo jiyuu akaikari!"

Once her jutsu was complete, Sakura turned her head away from Naruto and Sasuke, who were both trying to look to see what was so bad about her eyes. Kakashi saw them and gasped, his eyes widening slightly. Also, Tazuna had seen them.

"Wh-What is that?!" The bridge builder asked in fear.

"My curse." Sakura muttered angrily.

"Sakura…are you sure you'll be fine?" Kakashi questioned warily.

"It's just Rage, sensei!" She snapped back. "Just like before! So can we back off me now?!" The girl yelled heatedly. Naruto gulped and was about to make a comment, when something happened.

"The mist…it's getting thicker!" He noticed with alarm.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean. Swirling mists are ever present in this country." Tazuna offered as an explanation.

"Eight points." Zabuza's voice stated from somewhere in the thickening mist. Sakura let her eyes roam around the fog, only to serve in not finding the man and her anger growing.

"Stop hiding, you big loser!" She exploded.

"Ah, the Haruno kekkei genkai. Kanjoo jiyuu. I presume that you're using anger…or is it hate or rage? I don't really know, to be honest. The Haruno kekkei genkai isn't my area of expertise, but I do know that it'll be worth a lot on the black market…or to someone powerful who needs extra forces to fight for them." Zabuza stated in amusement.

"It's my Rage, jackass! And what the hell are you on about with the whole 'eight points' crap anyway?" She yelled back.

"Heh. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, Subclavian artery, kidneys, heart; all of them are points of instantaneous death. Now…which shall be my attack point? Better keep it far from your eyes, little Haruno, since I could sell them for a fortune.

"Y-You s-stay away f-fr-from Sakura-chan!" Naruto ordered shakily, scared but not liking the idea of anyone hurting his friend and crush.

"If-If you want her, you'll have to go though us!" Sasuke agreed. Sakura looked down in surprise.

'_They…care?'_ She asked herself.

Kakashi, not caring for anymore threats to be dealt towards his female student, finished reading the jutsu and cancelled it. His team looked at him in shock, but Sasuke froze.

'_I…I feel like I can't breathe!'_ He realised as he felt the aura of Kakashi and Zabuza.

"Heh." Kakashi muttered once he'd finished clearing the fog.

'_One shallow breath…one tiny movement of the eye is enough to draw his attack. It's suffocating! If it goes on like this, I'll go insane! The clash of two Jounin intending to attack…I've never felt anything so chilling. It's as if my own life is being choked off! No…I can't take it…I'd rather…'_ Sasuke thought, holding his kunai in both hands.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called, breaking him from his thoughts. "Calm down; I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He assured. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." The older man concluded, turning to the rest of them with a smile.

"And Sasuke." Sakura began, getting the attention of the Uchiha standing beside her. "If you see my eyes or I end up having to use them and you see what they do…please don't panic or anything. I'll have enough of a job calming Naruto down." She told him. "Oh, and sorry if I insult any of you from this point on. It's hard to keep control of my mouth and movements in this state." The girl finished, not once looking at him.

"I wouldn't be so sure about any of you escaping with your lives. So don't be too concerned about scaring them or protecting them." Zabuza mocked from his hiding spot as he placed his hands in a seal. "It's over."

Kakashi turned and saw Zabuza though his Sharingan in just enough time to dodge the swing of the large sword Zabuza carried. He then intercepted the rogue-nin as he went for Sakura, who was ready to attack. The Genin scattered, Sasuke going to where Kakashi once stood, Naruto going off to the left, Tazuna going backwards and Sakura to the right.

Fog once again covered the area, but not as thickly this time. It was thick enough to offer some cover, but thin enough to see more than just yourself. Everyone saw that Kakashi had stuck a kunai into Zabuza's stomach and that he was bleeding. However, it was not blood pouring out of the wound, but it was water.

Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, shocking everyone.

"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto warned as the second Zabuza got ready to attack the copy-nin.

Kakashi was shocked when the ninja he had stabbed erupted into nothing but water, which fell uselessly to the ground. The second –and now only- Zabuza swung his sword at Kakashi, slicing the ninja in half. However, this Kakashi too erupted into water. Eyes wide, Zabuza looked at the spot Kakashi once stood.

'_The water clone jutsu. It can't be!'_ Zabuza thought in shock. _'Even in the mist…he saw though my illusion and copied it in an instant!'_

A kunai was placed at his neck as he watched the water from the clone fall to the ground next to his own water clone's puddle.

"Don't move." Kakashi threatened daringly as he held the kunai. "Now it's over!"

The oath of pain

Kakashi and Zabuza remained frozen, the kunai pressed to the latter's throat. Everyone watched them. Everyone, that is, except a certain pinkette, who scanned the area around them with her kekkei genkai filled eyes. They were red with the white ring inside them, just like last time, but she hadn't yet lost control.

"You're finished." Kakashi stated darkly to the man at the end of his kunai. Naruto gulped and took in the situation in joy.

"All right!" He cheered.

Sasuke looked at the captured man and smirked, but that smirk was gone when he saw that Sakura was still in the defensive position she was in before. Her eyes were still turned away from him, but something about her aura now gave him the chills.

However, his attention was forced away from his team mate when Zabuza began to chuckle.

"Huh?" Kakashi voiced.

"Finished?" Zabuza echoed, still chuckling at the words. "You really don't get it, do you? you're technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copy-cat ninja like you." He continued to chuckle, amused at Kakashi's expense. "You _are_ full of surprises though. you'd already copied my water clone jutsu during your speech."

[--

"_Calm down; I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He assured. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." The older man concluded, turning to the rest of them with a smile._

[--

"Very skilfully executed." He complemented. "You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, just waiting for me to make my move. Nice try, but I'm not that easy to fool."

All at once, yet another Zabuza was behind Kakashi with his sword poised to attack. The Zabuza Kakashi had captured broke down into nothing but water and Kakashi allowed his eyes to widen.

"Hey, that one was a clone too!" Naruto yelled unhelpfully.

"Gee, thanks for the update, baka!" Sakura yelled at him in anger. Naruto shivered from both the tone and her frozen aura.

Kakashi turned and ducked as Zabuza swung the heavy sword, so he didn't even cut a silver hair. He slammed the sword into the ground, switched hands so that he held the hilt still and threw his leg in Kakashi's direction. The kick landed its mark and Kakashi when flying a short distance from the ninja who kicked him.

"Now." Zabuza stated, taking his sword out of the ground.

He held it firmly in two hands and ran at a great speed to where Kakashi would land, getting ready to strike. A glint from the ground caught his eye and he pulled to a stop before treading on any of the weapons sticking out from the ground.

"Makibashi spikes." He noted as he looked at the small but deadly spikes sticking out of the ground. "Trying to slow me down. Hm, foolish."

"Take a closer look at my spikes next time, asshole!" Sakura roared as she threw three poison laced senbon at him. Zabuza dodged and they became lodged in a tree. Said tree instantly lost all of its leaves, which turned brown, and the trunk became black.

"An illusion?" Zabuza wondered when he looked at the tree.

"No…my poison." Sakura corrected him, grinning like a maddened, blood-thirsty monster.

"No way!" He cried, but it was true.

"Like I said, look at the spikes. I master in poisons!" She boasted. The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the spikes. They couldn't kill you normally, as that was left to the ninja who set them as the victim was slowed down, but these had been covered in poison and were dripping with the purple liquid.

"It would have killed me on contact!" He realised. "Perhaps I should take all of you rather than just your eyes, Haruno."

"Not likely!" She yelled back, her eyes glowing a brighter red.

Zabuza, decided that he would rather finish off Kakashi before going after the Haruno girl, leapt into the water behind him.

"Sensei!" Naruto cried. _'I can't believe he got kicked though the air like that!'_

"That Zabuza has great physical skill too." Sasuke stated. "Sakura almost caught him with her poison, but he saw it too soon. Who knew she was that good? No, I have to protect her and Tazuna-san. This rogue-nin won't take Sakura!" The young Uchiha promised himself.

Kakashi surfaced from the water, where he had landed, and held his head and arm out of it while the rest of him stayed submerged. Something about the water didn't seem right to him.

"This isn't normal water…it's dense…heavy." He mused. Zabuza came up behind him, standing on the water, and placed his hands in fast signs for another jutsu.

"Ah, fool." Zabuza commented. "Suiro no Jutsu!"

"No!" Kakashi cried as he turned around quickly. The water around him began to mould itself into a ball, trapping Kakashi inside the ball of water mixed with chakra. Getting someone in took skill and chakra control, but still do-able. Getting out, however, was near impossible.

"Escaping underwater…bad mistake." Zabuza taunted, keeping his hand in the water ball to keep it tight around the copy-nin. "This prison may be made of nothing but water; however, with my chakra reinforcing its strength…it can be compared to steel. It's hard to fight and you can't move. So much for the _great_ Kakashi." He mocked the trapped man. "I'll finish you off later, but first those two little boys will have to be illuminated, the bridge builder killed and that girl captured. Water clone jutsu!"

'_Oh no! He's even more skilled than I thought!'_ Kakashi commented, his eyes widening when a clone came up from the water. _'I just hope that my team are up to the challenge…and that Sakura can keep control longer than she did before.'_

"You think wearing a Hatei-ate makes you a ninja, huh?" Zabuza began. "When you've hovered between life and death so many it doesn't phase you any more, that is when you may be called a ninja. when you've become so deadly that your profile is entered in my bingo book, then you may have earned the title of 'ninja'." He told them, performing another hand seal. "Whoever calls kids like the blondie and the Uchiha boy ninja is a joke."

Once more, Zabuza called the mist to create a cover for him to move without being seen and attack before anyone even notices he's there. Of course, Naruto freaked out. Sasuke let his head shift, looking for the 'disappearing' mist-nin before he could strike. Sakura was acting as if she had taken on a whole new personality.

'_Oh man, oh man, oh man! He disappeared again!'_ Naruto thought in desperation. _'He could take Sakura-chan and I wouldn't even notice until he had killed Tazuna, Kakashi-sensei and left!'_

Just as Naruto finished his thought, a foot cleared a small path in the mist and hit him in the stomach. The boy when flying back with pain filling his body at an alarming rate. His Hatei-ate came undone and landed on the ground away from its blonde owner.

Zabuza's clone rested its foot heavily on the metal of the ninja headband and looked at the fallen Genin.

"You're just brats." He acknowledged.

"Naruto!" Sakura called in worry.

"Heh. Even you, Haruno. You can't control your limit form more than a few minuets." He observed. "I'll hand it to you that the Harunos I knew couldn't last this long at your age or even up until they were eighteen at least, but I really expected the prodigy of the clan to be better than them. After all, you're the one who-"

"SHUT UP!" She screamed.

"So your team doesn't know? Heh, that's quite a secret you're keeping from them." He mock-scolded.

"Listen!" Kakashi called, interrupting them. "Grab the bridge builder and run! You can't win against him!"

"NO WAY!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura! Calm down! Don't lose control! Just run!" He told her.

'_Run away?'_ Sasuke thought. He spared a glance at Sakura, who looked both angry and slightly scared. _'Not an option! This guy made Kakashi-sensei look weak, he kicked the dobe __and__ threatened Sakura. No matter how far we run, he'll track us down. The mere fact he said that he'd take Sakura away is bad enough. This guy can easily get around our defences and if we're alone he'll easily defeat us. Our only change of survival is you.' _Sasuke calculated.

"So, I'll take the kunoichi before you can run. Simple as that." Zabuza stated.

'_No one threatens to take Sakura away! He's toast!'_ The Uchiha cried in his mind.

Sasuke ran at the water clone with a short battle cry, not willing to let anyone take Sakura away. She was the first girl he met who didn't bug the hell out of him and he could even go as far as saying he considered her to be his friend. She was going to stay.

The clone looked at Sasuke as he ran at an admirable speed for a Genin, but still nothing compared to what the mist-nin could do. He reached for the sword on his back, but Sasuke noticed the movement and took out five shuriken from his pouch. He threw them one-by-one towards the ninja, who growled and hit them from the air with his sword.

Not letting this affect him, Sasuke leapt up in the air and prepared to land with a kunai in his hand. Zabuza looked up at the fighting Genin and noticed the many flaws in his attack that a normal Genin or Chunin wouldn't have seen.

"Too easy." He muttered as he reached out his hand and took Sasuke by the throat as soon as the younger boy got within range. Sasuke was forced to drop the kunai and began to struggle against the vice-like grip the opposing ninja had on him.

He didn't need to struggle for long as Zabuza pulled back his arm and launched Sasuke across the air. The latter skidded along the ground before stopping and groaning in pain.

"Uchiha!" Sakura called before turning away and holding her head tightly in pain.

"He got Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in shock. He turned back to the blank-faced criminal and shock in fear. _'So this is what a Jounin is. A true elite ninja. I-I-I gotta g-get away! If I don't…seriously, he'll annihilate me for sure!'_ Naruto began to crawl away when a searing pain shot though his injured hand.

[--

"_Why am I so different?" Naruto asked himself. "Why am I always…argh!"_

"_Naruto!" Sakura yelled, running to him. "Stop that right now!"_

"_I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours…anything to get stronger. Just to reach my dream." He said as he remembered all of the extra training he did at home. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke." With these words, Sasuke looked at him with mild awe. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Dattebayo. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with my life. A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"_

[--

"_Hey." Sasuke called calmly._

"_Yeah?" Naruto asked, ready to become defensive. Sasuke looked at him was a mocking smirk._

"_You're not hurt, are ya?" He questioned tauntingly. "Scaredy cat."_

[--

Still looking at his hand, Naruto frowned sadly. _'I will not lose to Sasuke and I will prove myself to be worthy of the title ninja!' _The blonde sat up and looked at his Hatei-ate, still getting crushed under the foot of Zabuza's water clone.

[--

"_No, I…wanna try on your ninja headband…your Hatei-ate…come on, just let me borrow it, please?" Naruto asked sweetly, flashing his sensei a fox-like grin._

"_Oh, this?" Iruka asked, holding his Hatei-ate. "No way. You can only wear the leaf symbol Hatei-ate when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja. This is a symbol that you've come of age and ability to wear it, you'll get one tomorrow…if you pass the test." Iruka promised._

[--

"_Naruto, come here a moment. I've got something I want to give you." He called. Naruto nodded._

"_I'll be right back, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before dashing over to the wounded Jounin._

[--

"_Nice one, Uzumaki." Sakura said with a smirk and her arms crossed._

"_Congratulations, you graduate." Iruka said to him happily. Naruto just looked at the older man in shock. "And to celebrate, I have another surprise for you. We're all going out for ramen tonight. Sakura, you can come too if you want, as a thank you for helping me and Naruto."_

[--

"_Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke will die!" He threatened harshly. Sakura's eyes flicked over his face, then Sasuke's and finally Naruto's before she glared at her sensei._

"_I'm not killing Naruto. Example or not…never ever ask me to do something like that again." She threatened, her glare becoming colder than ice._

"_That's what will happen, though." Kakashi said, not taking her threat lightly. He took the kunai away from Sasuke, who sighed in relief._

"_You surprised me!" Naruto said in shock, feeling more relaxed now that he knew Kakashi didn't mean it. Thinking about what Sakura said, Naruto decided to question her about it later._

"_After someone is taken hostage, you'll have to deal with a dangerous situation or someone could get hurt and someone will most likely die in those cases. In every mission, you put your life on the line." He concluded, getting off of Sasuke and walking back slightly. The boy just glared at the ground._

[--

"_We're a three man squad." Sasuke said, aiding Naruto in his excuse of why they did what they did. Sakura, seeing that the two were awful at this, took over for them._

"_As a three man squad, we wouldn't have functioned properly as a team if Naruto was hungry. He would have been slower and it could have gotten us into a dangerous situation!" Sakura defended._

"_Yeah! Believe it!" Naruto added, not being able to help himself._

"_Is that so?" Kakashi asked, getting closer to them._

"_Hai!" The three answered confidently._

"_Then you pass!" The sensei finished cheerfully._

[--

"_Gah! You always lecture me like you're my Grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!" Naruto assured rebelliously. "I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" He finished, turning again and pouting wit his back to the Hokage._

[--

"_And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important." Naruto concluded, pumping his fist in the air out of serious determination._

[--

"That's right. I'm a ninja. Dattebayo." Naruto stated, getting up of the ground and holding himself on his feet. "I swore an oath of pain. I won't runaway!" He finished, charging at Zabuza as fast as he could.

"Huh? Naruto, no!" Kakashi yelled as loudly as he was able to thought the prison.

"Naruto! Don't, please!" Sakura begged.

"Hm." Zabuza grunted in amusement as the blonde got closer. "He is such a fool."

Naruto kept running, singing his battle cry loud and proud. He didn't even manage to land a single hit or even pull out a weapon before he was thrown back. The boy grunted as he hit the ground hard. Sakura's red eyes widened and she ran over to her fallen friend.

"Oi! You okay?" She asked him, resting her hand on his shoulder and forgetting her eyes for a moment. As he rose shakily from the ground, Sakura caught a glint of metal. In his hand was his Hatei-ate.

"I got it." He stated happily.

"You did that…for a Hatei-ate?" She questioned in shock.

"This…it's my right as a ninja to have it!" Naruto cried. He stood up and faced Zabuza. "Hey you…the freaky looking guy with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book; 'the ninja that will become the Hokage, ruler of all of Konohagakure…he never backs down'." He said darkly, attaching his Hatei-ate around his forehead once again. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, Dattebayo!"

'_Ahh, I thought that this runt was all talk. He has got guts.'_ Tazuna mused.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered. Naruto looked down at her and noticed her eyes before letting his own widen.

"S-Sakura-chan…your eyes…they…" He said. Sasuke looked at her face, which was not visible to him, and clenched his teeth when he saw the bright red and white circles.

"I…I never meant for you to see them." She stated sadly.

"Its okay, Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured her. The blonde cried out and held his side in pain. He would have fallen, but Sasuke ran over and caught him before he could further injure himself.

"You okay, baka?" Sasuke asked him.

"Yeah…I just need five minuets." Naruto assured.

"No…no…not him too…he can't get hurt…not him too…" She repeated over and over again. Zabuza noticed this and chuckled.

"I was hoping for this to happen." He said, letting everyone hear him.

"Kanjoo jiyuu irobunretsu!" Sakura yelled as she let a single tear escape her right eye, visible for all to see. The white circles in her blood red orbs disappeared and her black pupil came back. Her eyes were, however, still red.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, wanting to help her but he couldn't. Sasuke looked in shock as her body split in two from her left shoulder. Each half slowly became two people, one with red coloured eyes and one with grey eyes. Apart from the eye colour, it was the same Sakura appearance-wise. Same big red jacket, same black trousers, etc.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked his team mate…both of them.

"WELL, THAT'S A STUPID QUESTION!" The one with red eyes screamed, hitting the one with grey eyes on the back. Another body split from the front of the grey eyed one and became another full Sakura, but this one had orange eyes.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Kakashi-sensei! Zabuza! Hi! How are you guys!" The orange eyed one gushed in glee. She smiled brightly and skipped around the other two.

"STOP THAT, HAPPY-CHAN!" The red-eyed one said to the orange-eyed one.

"But it's such a lovely day!" She replied.

"Shut up or I'll hit you from here to China!" Red-eyes threatened.

"Don't. We wouldn't want her to sprout someone like Love." The grey eyed one warned without a trace of emotion in her voice.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked in complete confusion.

"Her kekkei genkai has almost gone into its final stage." Zabuza stated.

"Kekkei…genkai?" Sasuke murmured as he watched the red-eyed one hit the orange eyed one over the head and another body come out of the orange-eyed Sakura's stomach. This one had chocolate brown eyes and just rolled them when orange-eyes grinned at her.

"I believe we should stop this argument and attack Zabuza." The brown eyed one stated.

"FINALLY! SOME FIGHTING! I WAS GETTING PISSED OFF!" The red-eyed one yelled.

"You are always pissed off." The grey eyed one stated blankly.

"Hehe! Let's kick some butt!" The orange eyed one giggled.

The four of them looked towards the Zabuza water clone and charged full force at him. Brown-eyes looked all over the area as if calculating something as red-eyes screamed a battle cry and ran towards Zabuza with orange-eyes following behind. Grey-eyes kept a completely blank face before disappearing and showing up again behind the clone.

She delivered a swift kick to Zabuza's neck, only to be parried with his sword and thrown back into a tree. Another Sakura jumped out of her chest, this one with onyx eyes, and helped her up before they both charged again.

Orange and red weren't having much luck either, as both tried to hit either side of Zabuza with a kunai, but he hit them both with his arms and sent them flying into trees in opposite directions. Red-eyes split and another Sakura came out with crimson eyes as orange split and created purple.

Now that there were seven Sakura's, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tazuna were swung into even further confusion.

"Oi! Teme!" Naruto called over the battle between Zabuza's clone and red-Sakura, orange-Sakura, grey-Sakura, onyx-Sakura, purple-Sakura, brown-Sakura and crimson-Sakura.

"What, dobe?" He asked back.

"I got a plan." Naruto stated with a grin.

"Oh? Do tell." Sasuke replied, smirking.

"Okay, here's what we do…"

[--

"On your left, Rage-chan!" Orange-eyed Sakura called out as she dodged a fist.

"Thanks, Happy-chan! This guy's pissing me off!" Red replied, ducking the swinging sword.

Naruto and Sasuke stood side-by-side as they both went over the plan of attack in their minds. The blonde still had that grin on his face as Sasuke never lost the smirk. Both watched their team mate's seven selves battle it out and both knew that she would kill them for interfering later.

"Okay. Ready? Let's bring this guy down." Naruto stated. "Sakura-chan!"

Seven girls looked at each other and then the blonde.

"Er…all of the Sakura's!" Sasuke clarified.

They nodded and paid attention.

"You can back up now and relax! We'll take it from here, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan and Sakura-chan!" Naruto assured. They narrowed their eyes, but nodded and jumped back behind the two young boys with Tazuna. "Get ready, because this guy's going down with an earthquake!"

"Heh, big words for a midget like you." Tazuna's clone mocked, straightening up from the attack by all of the Sakuras.

"What are you doing? I told you to run! Your mission is to protect the bridge builder! Sakura might be able to handle him in her state, but not for long! Get going!" Kakashi yelled at his team.

"Hmm. Bridge builder?" Naruto asked, looking around at Tazuna. The older man began to talk.

"This is my fault…I was too selfish…but I...I don't know-"

"Oh for the love of- get on with it!" Red-eyed Sakura yelled at him.

"…G-Go ahead and save Kakashi." He told them in a scared voice.

"Alright, you hear that?" Sasuke asked, looking at Kakashi.

"Yeah, Dattebayo! You ready, teme?"

"You kids really haven't learned anything, have you?" Zabuza questioned in amusement. "Still playing your little game. Pretending to be ninja and what not. Only the Haruno girl could pass as ninja and just look at her!"

Seven girls with pink hair, but all with different coloured eyes, were on their knees panting in pain. The brown eyed one groaned from the strain of her pain and exploded into brown butterflies. Next was the orange-eyed one, who screamed before bursting into orange-winged butterflies. Next came the red butterflies, then onyx, purple, crimson and finally grey. A mix of winded creatures fluttered together before landing in the shape of a body.

They merged together and became one Sakura with her eyes closed. She was unconscious, but safe as far as anyone could see. As the last butterfly landed on her hand and was absorbed into her skin, she gasped and opened her eyes. The colour was dazzling emerald.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?" Naruto asked in worry.

"I'm fine…save Kakashi-sensei." She panted, furrowing her brow from the effort it took and the pain it caused to say that short sentence. Naruto nodded and turned to Sasuke, who looked from Sakura to Naruto and nodded as well.

"Hmph. When I was you're age, I had already wiped out every person, both students and teachers, in my academy and crushed those who stood in my way, it felt so…good!" Zabuza yelled, running at Sasuke. He kneed the Uchiha boy in the stomach, sending him to the ground, before planting his elbow in the same spot. Blood sprouted out of the dark-haired boy's mouth as he cried in pain.

Zabuza then pressed his foot on Sasuke's chest and reached for the hilt of his sword. Kakashi got angry at the treatment his pupils were getting. The young Uchiha cried once more in pain as Zabuza continuously applied more and more pressure to his heavily bruised chest.

"Heh, you're nothing." Zabuza chuckled darkly.

"Stop right there!" Naruto ordered, placing his hands ready for his most effective jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" He called. Around fifty clones appeared, surrounding the mist-nin.

"Oooh…Kage Bunshins." He muttered in fake shock. "And there's quite a few of them too." The man added. All of the clones took a kunai in their hand and grinned.

"Here we go!" They yelled in union. Sasuke looked up, still heavy-bodied from the pain, and saw all of the Naruto clones jump into the air to attack Zabuza in almost the same way Naruto had down to him on the day they graduated the academy.

All of the clones landed on Zabuza, forming a shell over him, and the closest ones swung kunai in his direction. Zabuza's eyes widened as he threw off all of the clones in one go.

"His skills are too advanced." Tazuna noted as he stood with Sakura, who still lay on the ground. "He's too powerful for them to handle!"

The clones popped away, leaving only the original, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna free to attack. Tazuna wasn't a ninja, so he was off the attacker list.

"I'm not giving up! I still have this! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, throwing Sasuke something out of his bag. The Uchiha caught it and smirked.

'_So that was his plan.'_ He thought, putting the weapon to use. _'Not bad, Naruto.'_

"I…I have to…help Naruto…and Sasuke." Sakura muttered, putting her hands on the ground under her and shakily pushing herself up and onto her feet. She fell a few times, but eventually stood on her feet, if not a little wobbly.

"Are you crazy?! You can barely stand!" Tazuna cried at her.

"From what I…heard of Naruto's plan…I don't need…to stand much…at all, really." She said with a smirk. Naruto grinned and nodded, turning to Sasuke. Both boys nodded again and Sakura walked to Naruto, performing a had sign behind her back.

Sasuke swung around and faced Zabuza as Naruto lay on the ground with a grin on his face and Sakura sat next to the blonde as she looked at the Uchiha though hazy emerald eyes. The single bladed weapon spun and split into four blades with a ring in the middle to hold it with, looking like a giant shuriken.

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" He called.

"A shuriken? You'll never touch me with that." Zabuza chuckled.

Sasuke, not letting the words dampen his attitude, ran and leapt up in the air, twisting his body before throwing the shuriken with speed, accuracy and power. Zabuza's clone just stood where he was originally, not moving an inch. However, his eyes widened when the weapon sped passed him and travelled in the direction of the real ninja.

"So…you passed the clone and aimed for my real body. Smart." Zabuza noticed without blinking an eye at the approaching weapon. "But not smart enough!" He concluded, catching the shuriken in his hand. He did, however, miss the second shuriken. "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first! His jutsu!"

"A second shuriken?" Tazuna questioned in amazement at the talent and ability of these so-called Genin. Everyone watched as the shuriken sped on, right on target. Zabuza had no free hands to catch it, so everyone assumed it would hit. However, he jumped up and it went under him.

"I told you' a shuriken can't touch me!" He boasted. Sasuke didn't seemed phased as he smirked.

The second shuriken was covered in smoke and it became two bodies carrying kunai. A ball of red, pink and black spun next to a ball of yellow, orange and blue. The balls spread their limps and became the two last members of team seven as the clones on the grass disappeared. Naruto grinned at Sakura, who smirked in return. Using the last of her strength, Sakura mimicked Naruto as they both simultaneously launched the weapon in their hands at Zabuza, whose eyes widened in shock.

Kakashi: The Sharingan Warrior

"Huh?" Zabuza asked in shock as the two kunai drew closer. Kakashi could only mimic his words as he had never known his students to be so good at fighting, let alone teamwork!

There was no way to dodge or catch the two kunai heading towards him and, upon closer inspection, the one the Haruno girl threw was dripping in poison. Zabuza's eyes widened and he pulled his hand out of the water prison to dodge the kunai, thus letting the jutsu release Kakashi from its hold on him.

Sakura's kunai, the one aiming right for his arm, missed and flew into the gathering fog. Naruto's, on the other hand, sliced Zabuza's cheek. Now enraged, the mist-nin turned to the flying ninja and growled. Sasuke and Tazuna looked on in shock as he held tightly on the shuriken he had caught previously and launched it at Naruto.

"I'll destroy you!" He yelled, throwing the shuriken.

Kakashi, now free, was too late to stop him, but he did manage to kick the swordsman back a few inches. Sasuke, Tazuna, Kakashi and Naruto all watched in shock as the giant shuriken came closer to Naruto's chest…right in his heart. Closing his eyes and waiting for the pain, Sakura looked at her blonde team mate as Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Ugh!" Naruto heard as he landed in the water with something heavier than a shuriken on top of him. He opened his eyes and saw that, somehow, Sakura had twisted herself in flight and made the shuriken catch her and not him. It was now digging dangerously far into her right hip.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called in worry.

"I didn't have…much energy left…anyway. You can…still help." She panted, rolling off of her blonde team mate so she was lying on her stomach next to him. To stop her from sinking any more than she already was, Naruto wrapped his arm under her armpits and placed her arm over his shoulders. He pulled out the shuriken too and threw it into the water.

Kakashi, standing on the water with Zabuza doing the same, looked on darkly as blood began pouring from Sakura's wound at an alarming rate, mixing with the clear water she was in. He turned back to Zabuza with both of his eyes open, his wet silver hair sticking to his face and a death promise not so well hidden in his glare. Whether the promise he had told to Sasuke earlier was a diversionary tactic or not, he had meant it.

Zabuza's eyes widened in shock at seeing the Sharingan like this, for earlier it had only seemed a ninja tool. Now it looked more like a promise of death and it was directed at him.

"Naruto. That was an excellent plan. You've really grown…all of you, am I right?" Kakashi mused.

"Ahahaha! I knew I couldn't beat him with my shadow clones, so I used them as a distraction while I turned myself into a fuuma shuriken. I had one of my clones pull me, as the shuriken, out of the bag and throw it to Sasuke. He knew instantly that the shuriken was Sakura-chan and I fused together, so he spun around to pull out his own shuriken! When he threw them, Sakura-chan and I hid in the shadow of the real shuriken and aimed for Zabuza's body, not the clone! It worked!" Naruto cheered.

'_It had to be a fluke! These kids act like they completely hate each others guts, but they're the perfect team! This is impossible!'_ Tazuna thought in awe as he went over the previous fight in his mind.

"Don't brag about it too much, dobe. We just lucked out." Sasuke shrugged with a smirk. Naruto grinned widely in return, but was made to look at Sakura when she got slightly heavier.

"Naruto…I can't…" Sakura let her eyes slide closed and her head lowered in the water. To stop her from drowning, Naruto lifted her higher. She was no longer trying to hold herself out of the water…she was unconscious and losing blood fast.

"Sensei! Sakura-chan won't last much longer!" Naruto cried out in worry and panic. Sasuke looked over to him and, sure enough, Sakura had her eyes closed and her breathing was shallow.

"Sakura! Wake up!" He yelled as loudly as he could to her, but the girl didn't stir from her forced slumber.

"You need to get Sakura to safety! Get her to Sasuke and use some of the bandages from his pack to stop the bleeding! Do it now, Naruto!" Kakashi ordered. Naruto nodded.

"Not gonna happen." Zabuza said, not letting Naruto passed. "All that happened was that I got distracted and lost control over the water prison, nothing more. I'll still flatten the lot of you."

"Don't flatter yourself." Kakashi told him. "You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go."

"Huh." Zabuza grunted.

Now, this is the time when Naruto and Sasuke would have gloated about their awesome victory, but both were still too concerned about their dying team mate in the water. Naruto kicked his legs and moved to swim passed the fighting Jounin, but Zabuza kicked him back. The blonde lost his grip on Sakura as they went flying in opposite direction and Sakura began to sink.

"Dobe! Get Sakura out of the water!" Sasuke cried in panic.

"I…I can't see her!" Naruto yelled back, tears coming to his eyes. Sakura, the first kid his own age to accept him, was slowly drowning and it was his fault for not holding onto her tightly enough.

"Heh. I'll trap you again and then get the girl." Zabuza mused.

"Your technique worked on me once, but I can assure you that it will not work again." Kakashi promised. "Naruto! Look for Sakura, quickly!"

"Hai!" Naruto called. He began to swim over to where Sakura landed and he took a deep breath. Holding the air in his lungs, Naruto ducked his head under water to look for Sakura. He caught a flash of pink, but it was gone soon enough.

"Dobe!" He heard Sasuke call as a splash was made in the water. Naruto looked over to where the noise came and saw Sasuke swimming towards him.

"Over here, teme!" Naruto called back, surfacing for air. "We need to find her."

Both of the boys nodded and split up, taking breaths before diving fully under the water to find their team mate. No luck was given to them so far, but they carried on for the sake of their pink haired friend.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Kakashi called. The boys broke the surface, took deep breaths and looked at their sensei.

"What?" They asked in union.

"Go back to Tazuna-san and protect him. Sakura is strong. She'll be fine, but Tazuna-san can't protect himself." Kakashi told them.

"Wha-?" Naruto cried in defiance.

"She's unconscious! She'll drown!" Sasuke yelled back.

"Go, now!" Kakashi ordered. They both glared at him, but jumped from the water and ran to the bridge builder.

Kakashi and Tazuna leapt away from each other and the latter preformed hand seals. Kakashi, seeing what he was doing with the Sharingan, let his eyes widen.

"Sharingan!" Sasuke noticed, seeing that Kakashi was using the eyes to their proper use now.

The ninja from the mist preformed twenty animal seals for his jutsu, only to have Kakashi copy them exactly and at the same pace. They began to repeat the seals at the same time, making it sound like a chant or something similar. With the last sign, two pillars of water rose from beneath them and began to sway.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" They said at the same time as the pillars changed shape into that of a dragon. The dragons clashed, creating waves and water to fall. Naruto and Sasuke looked on, now even more worried about Sakura under that chaos.

'_So many hand signs and he mirrored them all perfectly.'_ Sasuke noticed as the water began to rain over him and the other two on land. _'Sakura is still under that water…is she…NO! She has to be okay. She just has to! I don't want you to be hurt Sakura! Come on!'_

'_Come on, Sakura-chan! Jump out of the water and surprise everyone with a really loud noise…or sneak out and show yourself later…just be okay, please be okay!'_ Naruto begged in his mind, hoping that somehow someone would hear him.

[--

"_Sakura-chan!"_

Naruto..?

"_Sakura!"_

Sasuke…

"_Please be okay!"_

Am I dead?

"_Come on!"_

Shut up, teme…wait…where are you two?

"_Jump out of the water!"_

I'm in water?

"_Do something!"_

Can I hear your thoughts?

"_Live!"_

"Here I come…"

[--

The dragons crashed against each other again and were about to go in for another attack, when both exploded. Kakashi and Zabuza, who were fighting with a sword against a kunai at the moment, looked in shock at the jutsu creature that weren't supposed to go until ordered to.

'_Something isn't right.'_ Zabuza noted as he dodged the shurikens Kakashi had thrown during his split second of dropped guard.

They were both thrown back as a giant column of water rose from the lake without a second warning. It went so high that they couldn't see the top, but they could see what was inside.

A few feet off of the bottom was one Sakura with her eyes closed, then another above her in the same position, then another and so on until there were fourteen of them. Everyone gasped in shock as they all opened their eyes. On the bottom was deep blue eyes, then grey, then peach, then brown, then orange, onyx, yellow, pale green, crimson, red, pink and finally grape purple. All of them placed their hands in a seal none of the men below had seen before.

"Kanjoo jiyuu…nama futago!" They chanted over and over again until they had said it once for each of them. The Sakura's began glowing the same colour as their eyes and the water fell back down, leaving them to hover in the air.

They all exploded into muliticoloured butterflies, just as before, but this time they formed two girls with pink hair. One had her hair cropped around her shoulders and was wearing a black, formal kimono with a white circle on the back and the other had long, flowing hair let down around her ankles, and she was wearing a white formal kimono with a black circle on the back.

The two Sakuras landed on the water, standing on it in the same was Kakashi and Zabuza were, and smiled serenely at all of the people looking at them. Sakura with cropped hair had onyx eyes with white pupils and a black spot in the pupil while the one with long hair had white eyes with a black pupil and a white spot in the middle of the pupil.

"Haruno Isseki Nichoo." They spoke in union, placing their hands in the seal for dragon. A flock of ravens and doves filled the skies and began swirling around Kakashi and Zabuza, cawing and screeching.

"Sakura! It's me, Kakashi! Your sensei!" Kakashi called when he noticed that she was going to attack him too.

Both girls looked at Kakashi and smiled again. At the one in black sent the crows towards Zabuza, the one in white sent Kakashi the doves. He was surrounded by white birds, which then lifted him over to where Naruto, Sasuke and Tazuna were standing.

"What's going on, sensei?" Naruto asked in slight fear as both girls glared at Zabuza and the birds pierced his skin with their beaks and talons.

"I…don't know, Naruto." Kakashi answered, shaking his head slightly.

The birds dispersed and the twins glided across the water towards Zabuza, never once did their bare feet touch the wet surface. The man looked at them, panting from exhaustion and bleeding from the wounds they had previously left behind. They held out their right hands and Zabuza was pushed back into a tree y an invisible force.

"Our counter-parts…the emotions couldn't finish you off." The one in the white kimono stated, sounding like a choir of angles, as she placed her right hand in the sign for the rabbit.

"So now we had to come and take care of it instead." The one in black finished, sounding more like a demon from the pits of hell, as he placed her hand in the sign for the Ox.

"This is your last battle!" They cried together.

Masses of red, white, black, brown, blue, purple and all sorts of other coloured chakra spin around the two, who seemed unaffected by it. Voices chanted words, but not a single letter was heard clearly enough to distinguish what was being said.

The chakra subsided and the girls frowned at Zabuza just as two senbon needles lodged themselves in his neck. He fell to the ground, unmoving and not breathing. They prepared to destroy the new attacker. There was a person stood in the tree. A mask covered their face and their clothing was loose, making it hard to tell whether this was a man or a women. However, team seven and Tazuna just assumed it was a man from the aura he was letting off.

"Hm, you were right. This was his last battle." The voice of this person seemed feminine; despite the fact everyone previously thought that this Androgyny was male, he/she could be either.

Kakashi frowned and jumped towards Zabuza as the twins backed off slightly to give him room. He placed two fingers on Zabuza's neck, feeling for a pulse, and found none. Kakashi sighed and moved his hand over Zabuza's mouth to feel for signs of breathing and them put his hand on the rogue-nin's back, where the heart would be, but found no beat.

"No vital signs." He stated with a sigh. The person who threw the senbon bowed slightly to Kakashi and then gave a lower bow to the twins.

"Thank you." The person said. "I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time; waiting for this chance. To finally take him down."

"By your mask, I can see that you're a tracker ninja from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed. The ninja straightened up and looked at the sensei of team seven.

"Impressive. You're well informed." The tracker stated, their voice cracking like a boy going though puberty.

"A tracker!" Naruto cried, getting into a defensive position.

"You don't even know what that is, Naruto-kun." The twins stated simultaneously, the one in white wearing a smile as the one in black frowned.

"You missed the lesson on it, as usual." Sasuke grunted. "Tracker-nins have a special role. Try coming to class sometime."

"Right, Sasuke-kun. You're very smart." The one in white complimented.

"When a rogue ninja breaks from his village…" The one in black began.

"…They take all kinds of secrets with them." Long-haired Sakura stated.

"Trackers are speciality trained to…"

"…Hunt down these ninja and eliminate them."

"Right, Sasuke-kun?" The girls asked in union. Sasuke turned a tiny shade of pink from the name and nodded.

"You are correct. I am a member of the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza. Well, I didn't expect any less from a child of the Haruno family." The ninja congratulated.

'_From his size and voice…he must be the same age as Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. Yet, he's already an elite assassin. He is definitely no ordinary kid, but what is he? Well, I guess I can't really say that after witnessing what Sakura just did.'_ Kakashi thought, figuring out the gender of the young man.

Naruto ran forwards and growled, looking from the dead Zabuza to the hunter and back again a few times. He kept growling, going over the events in his mind. The boy then looked to the two Sakuras, who were smiling as if death was absolute fine and dandy. His fuse blew and he turned back to the hunter.

"What is this?! Who do you think you are?!" He asked in rage. "Did you hear me?!"

"Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy." Kakashi told the boy, trying to calm him down a little.

"Huh? That's not the point! Did you see what he did? Just like that, he can go around killing people! It took us all this time to even make Zabuza bleed and he took him down in one move! What does that make us? Are we just little kids?" Naruto cried.

"Calm down." The twins said to him.

"Don't tell me what to do! You are just the same as he is, only I think you kill for fun and not for a job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled at her. The twins froze in shock.

"Of course we don't kill for fun!" They yelled back.

"You could land loads of hits on Zabuza easily, Sakura-chan! This guy took him down in only one move! I could barely do anything at all! How can I accept that?!" Naruto asked her. The twins sighed and leant back-to-back before both got consumed by silver light and only the normal Sakura stood in their place, her wound from the shuriken still bleeding.

"Even if you never accept it, it still happened, Naruto." Sakura told him with a shrug. She then hissed in pain and held her bleeding side.

"Naruto…in this world there are kids who are younger than you, and yet they are also stronger than me." Kakashi told him, sparing a discrete glance at Sakura, who missed it. Sasuke also looked to Sakura, only to see her swaying slightly.

The man in the tree used a wind current and disappeared, only to reappear next to the fallen body of Zabuza.

"Your struggle is over…for now. I hope that we shall meet again soon, Haruno-san. I must now dispose of the body." The young boy said, gathering Zabuza onto his shoulders. "Farewell." He bid, leaving in a small tornado.

"He disappeared!" Naruto gasped. Kakashi sighed and pulled his Hatei-ate back down over his Sharingan eye. Naruto ran over to where the boy once was and looked around.

"He's gone, Naruto. Let it go." Kakashi told him. Naruto punched the ground repeatedly.

"I can't believe that I was practically useless again! Sakura-chan almost drowned and it was my entire fault! Zabuza almost took her and I wouldn't have been able to stop him! What am I? Just a big failure?!" He asked himself, still pounding the earth below him.

"None of that was your fault, Naruto." Sakura promised him softly. The silver haired sensei of the squad walked over to the orange-clad boy and grabbed his wrist before he could punch the ground again.

"As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for the next enemy we face." Kakashi told him. He left go of his student and Naruto slumped a little, panting from the energy used up in battle.

"I know." Naruto assured him.

"We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi told them.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

"Heheh! Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya! But, you can rest at my house when we get there." Tazuna laughed.

"All right. Let's get a move on!" Kakashi ordered. He took three steps passed Naruto and froze. His eyes widened a he fell to the ground.

"Sensei! What happened?" Naruto asked in a panic as everyone gathered around the fallen ninja.

"He just…overexerted…himself. He used…too much…chakra." Sakura panted out.

"What about you, girly? You look half dead!" Tazuna commented, seeing her pale skin and weary eyes.

"She's still losing blood!" Sasuke realised.

"I'm…fine…" She coughed out blood and began to fall, but Sasuke caught her before she hit the ground.

"I'll carry Sakura while Naruto, you have to carry Kakashi-sensei. Tazuna-san, hurry up! We need to get them to your house!" Sasuke ordered, taking command. Naruto would have complained about the order of things, but he was too busy worrying about Sakura to make a fuss.

* * *

**This chapter had been edited for errors. Thanks to _akatsuki's hikari_ for pointing them out :D**


	7. Chakra, Training and True Heroes!

**A/N: Well, the votes are still the same. VOTE PEOPLE! I'M STOPPING THE VOTES SOMEWHERE BETWEEN CHAPTERS TEN AND FIFTEEN!**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

Chapter Seven

The Forest of Chakra

In a moderately large house by the coast, the Konoha ninja were relaxing from their journey and fight. The sea birds were flying in the skies, creating a loud yet strangely pleasant noise. After the battle with Zabuza, when Kakashi and Sakura collapsed, Sasuke, Naruto and Tazuna had brought them to the bridge builder's house to rest.

Kakashi was lying in a spare room, tucked into a futon for warmth. Sakura was beside him in another futon, breathing silently in her sleep. The former woke up and blinked with his only visible eye a few times, taking in his surroundings, but without sitting up from the warmth of the futon.

'_Ugh…I think I over did it a bit with my Sharingan.'_ He groaned to himself as he looked up at the ceiling.

A young woman walked into the room and saw him. Her hair was long, reaching to the bottoms of her shoulder blades, and black while her eyes were the same colour. She wore a short-sleeved pink jumper and a dark blue skirt that stopped just below her knees. Her appearance was pretty, but not beautiful.

"Waking up, huh?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you alright?" The woman added. She walked to the futon and stood right next to it and looked down at Kakashi.

"I've been better." He complained, still not moving. "It'll be a week before I can move…normally." Kakashi grunted as he sat up slightly.

"See?" She asked, taking note of the pain he was in. "It's better if you_don't_ move, so just lay down."

"Right." Kakashi grunted, complying with her gentle order. Footsteps alerted Kakashi to more visitors and Naruto walked in, soon followed closely behind by Sasuke and Tazuna.

"Look, Kakashi-sensei is coming around!" Naruto noticed when he saw Kakashi's eyes open. "Listen…the Shara-thingy is cool and all, but if it means that _we_ have to fall behind in our mission when you use it, maybe it's just not worth it." He added.

"Sorry." Kakashi sighed.

"Ahem." The woman cleared her throat.

"Oh! This is my daughter, Tsunami. Tsunami, this is Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and the girl in the futon is Haruno Sakura." Tazuna explained.

"Nice to meet all of you. It's an honour." Tsunami said with a smile.

"Honour?" Naruto echoed.

"Well, you four ninja _did_ take down one of the most powerful assassins around here, so we should be fine and safe for a while." Tazuna told them.

"Right, right! We're awesome!" Naruto cheered.

"What about that boy in the mask?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes at the thought of the boy who was so obviously more powerful than he was that it wasn't even funny.

"He's from the elite tracking unit of the village hidden in the mist, Kirigakure. Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi." Kakashi informed them.

"Uh…what do they do?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"The ANBU black ops, also known as the inferno squad, destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The ninja's body would contain many secrets; ninjutsu, chakra and special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemies find them, his people would be in grave danger." Kakashi explained.

"So…" Naruto prompted.

"If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him and erase every trace of his existence. That's their specialty." He concluded.

"I still don't get it!" Naruto cried in annoyance.

"Well, for an example; if I were to die at the hands of the enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. In the worst case, the entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our own village. It is the sacred duty of the shinobi trackers to prevent this…to keep our village secrets safe."

"What if one got a hold of Sakura-chan, like that Zabuza guy was trying to do yesterday?" Naruto asked.

"Then may Kami-sama help us all." Kakashi sighed.

"Hey, guys?" Sasuke called, getting their attention.

"Yea, teme?" Naruto acknowledged.

"Where exactly _is_ Sakura?" He asked, gesturing to the once-occupied futon on the floor.

[--

The boy in the mask who took down Zabuza was sitting with said criminal in front of him. A giant sword, the very one Zabuza fought with, was stuck in the ground so that it was standing not too far from them. He took out a roll of equipment and picked out a pair of sharp green pliers.

"First I'll cut the bandage and drain some of the blood." He said to himself as he raised the pliers to do so. The boy gasped when the 'dead' ninja lying in front of him grabbed his wrist and opened his eyes. Zabuza grunted and pulled down the bandages near his mouth.

"That's enough." He commanded to the hunter-nin. "I'll do it."

"So…you've already come back to life." The boy observed nonchalantly, as if he was just talking about the weather. Zabuza sat up, not bother in put the bandages back in place, and panted form the effort it took on his pre-dead body.

"Haku…you're brutal!" Zabuza scolded.

"You're the one who's brutal, Zabuza." Haku shot back calmly. "If you keep pulling my senbon out like that, you really will be finished." He added when he saw Zabuza rip the needles out of his neck harshly.

"Hmm, how long are you planning to wear that phoney mask?" He asked when he was the still-covered face of the boy. "Take it off." Zabuza ordered harshly.

"I have good memories of this mask." Haku told him, reaching up and removing the mask. "And it was quite useful for tricking those four ninja into thinking I was a tracker-nin."

"Whatever." Zabuza grunted.

When the mask came off, it revealed a beautiful face. Haku had thick, black eye lashed framing innocent and sparkling brown eyes. His pale skin had no impurities or scars and his face looked soft to touch as a cloud would seem. Around his forehead, he wore the Hatei-ate with the symbol of Kirigakure on it.

"You should be grateful. If I hadn't have intervened, you'd most probably be dead now." Haku claimed as Zabuza spat on the ground. "That much is certain." He concluded. Zabuza looked the boy in the eye and glared.

"Putting me in a temporary death-state is fine, but _not_ though the pressure points in my neck." He stated, pulling up the bandages to cover his mouth again. "Cruel as usual. I think you _enjoy _it!"

"It was the only sure way." Haku assured innocently. "That and I wouldn't want to mark up your flawless body…you'd complain about that even more than the neck thing." He added with a slightly amused tone. "The neck is more vulnerable. There's no layer of muscle, so I can go straight into the pressure points."

"Ugh." Zabuza grunted as he attempted to stand up, but failed in even raising himself a centimetre.

"There's no point in trying to move. You'll be numb for a week." Haku assured unhelpfully. "Although…if you're as stubborn as usual, you'll probably be moving in half the time."

"You are so innocent." Zabuza noticed randomly. "And yet you're clever at the same time. It's a rare combination, that's why I keep you around."

"Hehe, I'm still a kid, what else would you expect?" Haku asked with a small laugh at the beginning. He stood and continued. "The mist has cleared."

"Hn." Zabuza grunted in acknowledgement.

"Next time…will you be alright?" Haku asked in worry.

"Next time…I'll see right though that Sharingan." Zabuza promised.

"What about that girl? She was a Haruno, if I guessed right." Haku reminded him.

"I know…I'll leave her to you. If I remember correctly, you're interested in learning more about the Haruno clan anyway, Haku." Zabuza noted.

"Yes…but she seemed stronger than the average Haruno." The brunette stated with a small smile.

"She was. Remember that black tree with all the leaves fallen off." Zabuza asked his partner.

"I do…why?" Haku enquired.

"It was her."

"A ninjutsu?" Haku asked.

"No…a poison did that within three seconds of impact. She _made_ the poison herself and was aiming it at me." Zabuza stated, frowning as the place his eyebrows should have been lowered.

"I see." Haku nodded in mild shock.

[--

'_What is this? If Zabuza is finished…then why do I feel this way?'_ Kakashi asked himself as he rubbed his head. He was still sitting in his futon, too weary to get up. _'Something is defiantly wrong. It's almost like I missed something big. And where has Sakura gone?'_

"Hey! Are you okay?" Naruto asked his sensei, seeing the older man's dark expression.

"Huh?" Kakashi asked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Oh…yeah, I'm perfectly fine. I was just thinking…tracker ninja usually deal with the body of their prey immediately…meaning on the spot. That way, there's no room for error." He told the boys on his team, along with the dark-haired woman and Tazuna.

"Is that important?" Naruto questioned him.

"Think about it. Do you guys remember what that tracker did with Zabuza after he killed him?" Kakashi asked them seriously.

[--

_The man in the tree used a wind current and disappeared, only to reappear next to the fallen body of Zabuza._

"_Your struggle is over…for now. I hope that we shall meet again soon, Haruno-san. I must now dispose of the body." The young boy said, gathering Zabuza onto his shoulders. "Farewell." He bid, leaving in a small tornado._

[--

"I don't know what he did." Naruto admitted easily.

"I guess…he took it away somewhere?" Sasuke stated, not too sure about his own answer.

"Exactly. But why? He could have worked on Zabuza right there; as quickly as possible." Kakashi noted. "Think of the weapons he used for the take-down. Do you remember what they were?"

"Normal throwing needles." Sasuke remembered. "No way."

"Yes. None of it adds up." Kakashi sighed.

"What are you all yammering about? You demolished that assassin where he stood." Tazuna stated.

"Wrong!" A female voice yelled from the window. Everyone looked over to it and saw Sakura crouching on the frame with her long pink hair tied up high on her head with the black ribbon she always carried around. Her eyes, for some reason, were covered with sunglasses.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, running to her. She jumped off of the windowsill and straightened up, placing her hand on her hip.

"Zabuza is alive." Sakura told them, getting right to the point. Naruto gasped and Sasuke looked at her in shock. The other people in the room choked on air at the blunt news.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked to be certain.

"Positive. I'm never wrong!" Sakura boasted, smirking. She reached up and untied her hair before shaking it out of place so that it fell to her knees and over her shoulders as usual.

"She's right." Kakashi confirmed with a sigh.

"But we saw his body! Dattebayo!" Naruto protested.

"You checked him yourself, Kakashi-san!" Tazuna cried. "You said that his heart stopped!"

"His heart _did_ stop." Kakashi frowned. "That was, however, just a temporary state of false death. The weapons that tracker used aren't normal throwing needles, but are called senbon. I believe Sakura has thousands of them in her own arsenal. They can rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, but pierce the skin deeply."

"The neck is different though. If a senbon hits the right place with the right amount of force, the victim will be paralyzed and their heart will stop for a certain period of time while the body remains alive." Sakura cut in helpfully as she brushed her fingers though her pink hair to work out the knots and tangles. Kakashi nodded and continued.

"It isn't easy, but hunter-nins are trained so well that it would become a mediocre task for them." He said. "First, the tracker carried Zabuza's body away, even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon, which have a precise effect, but are rarely fatal."

"From those two factors, it's obvious that the tracker wasn't trying to kill Zabuza. He was trying to save him. Cha! I am _right_ again!" Sakura stated proudly.

"Come on…you're over-thinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna stated lightly, but with a decent amount of nervousness in his voice.

"In this kind of situation, over-thinking saves more lives than simply dismissing the matter does." Kakashi told the man. "Every shinobi knows that. We have to prepare ourselves quickly." When he finished his statement, he saw Naruto grin. _'Huh, he's actually pleased to hear that Zabuza is alive. Now Naruto has another shot at him.'_

"Wait…how did you manage figure that out so long before Kakashi-sensei did, Sakura?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"I pride myself in my own knowledge." Sakura sneered back, still hiding her eyes behind the glasses.

"Pride yourself, eh? Okay…so you're pride then." Kakashi stated. Sakura huffed and took off her glasses, revelling the same coloured eyes as Sasuke. _'Typical that pride, which is only a small step away from arrogance, is the same colour eyes as Sasuke.'_

"Aw man! How'd you figure it out?" Sakura…Pride moaned.

"Well, I actually didn't. It was a guess and you just proved me right without meaning to. You're certainly not as smart as the brown-eyed one." Kakashi shrugged. Pride growled.

"Of course she's not as smart as me." The brown-eyed Sakura stated as she jumped though the window. "I'm Intelligence, after all." She shrugged.

"Alright! That's enough! Ladies, spread your wings." The red-eyed one commanded as she stood on the windowsill next to the one with grey eyes. They all took a breath and burst into butterflies, forming one Sakura leaning against the door with her eyes closed. She gasped and opened them, showing green.

"Could you not do that?" Sasuke asked with an unrecognisable emotion filling his voice.

"Why not?" Sakura retorted.

"It's weird." Sasuke scoffed.

"I'll do it as much as I want to, Uchiha." She sneered back.

"Well, could you at least explain it to me, Sakura-chan? I want to be able to use that jutsu as well!" Naruto grinned.

"You can't." She stated bluntly. Naruto's face fell.

"Why not?" He asked.

"You're incapable." The girl told him with a shrug. Her blonde team mate growled.

"Hey! If this is a crack about my ninja skill or abilities in the academy or anything like that then-"

"It's not, Naruto. My ability is a kekkei genkai. Only someone of the Haruno clan can perform it." She explained.

"Oh." He sighed in defeat. "Can you tell me about it anyway?"

"Fine." Sakura sighed.

Out of nowhere, Sakura pulled out a whiteboard and a black pen to draw on it with. Naruto and Sasuke were pushed into chairs by an invisible force and desks with pencils and paper were dropped in front of them from somewhere above. The room changed to a classroom and the boys picked up the pencils as Sakura uncapped her pen and cleared her throat.

"Firstly, my kekkei genkai is called 'Kanjoo jiyuu'. This means 'Emotion freedom'. It allows me to either have one emotion take control of my body or split into all twelve of my emotions. The emotions I control like that are Anger, Depression, Desire, Envy, Fear, Happy, Intelligent, Love, Pride, Rage, Vain and Shy." She began.

"Sakura-sensei, what different coloured eyes do each of your emotions have?" Naruto asked as he took notes. Sasuke also took notes, but he looked up at her too.

"Good question, Naruto. Anger has purple eyes, Depression has dark blue eyes, Desire has peach-coloured eyes, Envy has dark green eyes, Fear has yellow eyes, Happy has orange eyes, Intelligent has brown eyes, Love has pink eyes, Pride has onyx eyes, Rage has red eyes, Vain as teal eyes and Shy has pale green, almost white, eyes."

As Sakura explained this, she was, drawing stick-girls with pink hair for each one, all pointing to another stick-girl with pink hair and 'Sakura' written below her. Above each of the twelve emotions, she drew a circle of colour to show their eye-colours.

"Who were the twins?" Sasuke asked after he wrote down the colours of the emotion's eyes.

"The twin wearing a white kimono is Yin and the twin in a black kimono is Yang. They are a mix of my emotions. Yin has all of the goodness from my personality inside her while Yang has all of the darkness." Sakura told them, adding Yin and Yang to her diagram. "Anything else?"

"Sakura-sensei, you only told us about twelve emotions. Before, they split into thirteen!" Naruto remembered, lifting his hand as he spoke.

"Well, the one with grey eyes is me. Once the emotions are free, my body is still Sakura, but I am emotionless. Get it?"

"Yep!" He shouted happily, scribbling down this new information.

"Okay, so when I just change my eyes, they become the colour of the emotion I'm using, but have a white Haruno circle surround where the pupil would go and no pupil." She continued. "So, when I use rage for example, I would say 'Kanjoo jiyuu akagekido', meaning 'Emotion freedom red rage'." She paused.

"So, what if you wanted to use pride?" Sasuke questioned.

"Then instead of saying 'akagekido', I would say 'kurohokori'. Get it, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Aa." He replied, noting this down.

"Any more questions?" She enquired.

"What about that fight yesterday? When you used another jutsu and every time you got hit you split into two?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, the jutsu, 'Kanjoo jiyuu irobunretsu' meaning 'Emotion freedom colour separation', basically means that whenever I get hit, another one of my emotions splits out of me. It's more a defence technique, so if one goes down another gets up to fight, but sometimes a Haruno loses control and activates the jutsu by accident in a trance-like state, as I did yesterday." She explained.

"Okay. I understand." Sasuke nodded.

"Well, that concludes our lesson on 'Haruno Sakura's kekkei genkai'! Don't miss the next class!"

The room once more became Tazuna's house and Naruto and Sasuke put away their papers, slipping them into their pockets, before everyone returned to what they were doing before the three of them flew into the classroom, or rather the classroom flew to them.

"Sensei, you said 'prepare ourselves quickly', right? Well, how can we do that when you can barely move? Wouldn't it be really hard?" Naruto asked, frowning as he was deep in thought. Kakashi looked at him and chuckled lightly.

"I can still train you." He claimed, shrugging at the disbelieving looks on both Sasuke and Sakura's faces.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but a little last minuet training wont make anyone strong enough to beat Zabuza. You couldn't even beat him with the Sharingan and my kekkei genkai was a flop! We have to be reasonable about this." Sakura stated.

'_**What, are you trying to get us killed, sensei?! Cha!'**_ Inner agreed angrily.

"Sakura, why was I able to stop Zabuza? Because you all helped me. If that fake hunter-nin hadn't come in at the last second, Zabuza would really be dead right now." Kakashi assured her. "You've grown. I mean, you have perfect control over your Kanjoo jiyuu for ten minuets without feeling tired afterwards. A bit more training and you could have unlimited time with it."

"I…I guess." Sakura shrugged, smiling inwardly.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called.

"Huh?" Naruto asked as his attention was caught.

"You've grown the most." Kakashi told him happily.

'_Well…he does seem stronger…and…defiantly more confident than before as well.'_ Sakura noted with a mental smirk.

'_**Cha! Naru-chan rocks!'**_ Inner cheered.

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto grinned. "Now things are going to get better! Dattebayo!" He cheered, just like Inner-Sakura had.

"I _don't_ believe it and _nothing's_ gonna be good!" A bratty voice hollered from behind them pessimistically. The ninja of Konoha turned to see who was speaking and saw a small boy in the doorway.

He wore brown sandals in the style a ninja would have them, dark green dungarees that cut off just below his knees with a pocket on the chest and a crème, wide-and-high-necked, short-sleeved jumper under it. His short brown hair was covered mostly by a white hat, which had two blue stripes around it, and his eyes were black, just like Tsunami's.

This kid looked to be around the same age as Konohamaru, meaning eight, and just as annoying as the 'honourable grandson of the honourable third Hokage' too. Pff, how troublesome.

"Who are you?!" Naruto yelled at the short kid.

"Aww! Inari, where've you been?" Tazuna asked as the kid ran over to him and hugged the old man.

"Welcome back, grandpa!" Inari yelled in joy.

'_**THAT'S the grandson?! So much for him being hot! But…he is kinda adorable! Just like Konohamaru!'**_ Inner gushed, sitting down to sew a new plushie of Inari, her Konohamaru one sitting nearby.

'_Konohamaru is annoying and this kid is a brat!'_ Sakura yelled in her mind.

"Inari, that was very rude!" Tsunami scolded. "These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely!"

"That's okay, it's okay! I'm rude to them too." Tazuna assured him.

Inari just looked at the group of Genin kneeling on the floor with a blank, but slightly hateful, look. He looked first at Sasuke, glaring at the dark-haired Uchiha. Then he shifted his gaze over to Naruto, sending another hateful glare. Finally, his coal-coloured eyes looked at Sakura, to whom he blushed at but still managed a small frown.

"Okaa-san, don't you see? These people are going to die!" Inari told his mother as he stood up. "Gato will come back with his fighters and ninja men and wipe them out!"

"What did you say, you little brat?!" Naruto yelled at him. "Listen up; you know what a super-ninja is? Well that's me, only I'm a lot better! You see, I'm gonna be the Hokage! This 'Chato' or 'Blato' is no match for a real hero, like me!"

"Ha. There's no such thing as a _hero_. You're just full of stupid ideas and fantasies!" Inari said mockingly.

"What did you say?!" Naruto yelled, charging to hit the kid. Sakura intercepted him and grabbed his arm and head before he could get close enough to touch Inari.

"Naruto, calm down! He's just a kid!" She screamed over Naruto's roaring and growling, still trying to keep her grip on his hair and jacket.

"If you_ninja _wanna stay alive, you should just go back where you came from." Inari warned them before walking away. Sasuke watched the kid go in silence.

"Inari, wait. Where're you going?" Tazuna asked the child.

"To look out at the ocean." He said, opening the door. "I just wanna be alone, okay?" With that, the kid walked off on his own.

Sakura, still struggling with holding Naruto back but this time holding his shoulders, didn't notice Sasuke sighing and getting up. The Uchiha walked over to her and smirked mentally at finding an excuse to hold her again, like he did when they first set out of Konoha. He slid his arms around her waist to help her pull.

"Wha-? Sasuke! What are you doing?" She asked, feeling the grip he had on her.

"Helping you hold the dobe." He replied.

"Why can't you just grab onto Naruto then?" Sakura questioned in aggravation.

"Me? Touch him? I don't think so." Sasuke told her. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry about that." Tazuna said to them. Naruto was still growling, but calmed down enough so that he wasn't pulling against Sakura and Sasuke anymore.

Now, with nothing holding them up, Sakura's hand slipped off of Naruto's shoulders and she fell back. However, since Sasuke was behind her, he also fell back and she landed on top of him. So now, Sasuke was sitting on the floor with Sakura in his lap and his arms around her waist.

"AHHH! TEME! LET HER GO!" Naruto yelled when he saw what position his team mates were in. Kakashi just smiled in amusement.

"S-Sorry." Sasuke stuttered as he let go of the girl. Naruto helped her up and she shrugged.

"No big deal. It wasn't your fault." She assured him.

[--

Later that day, Naruto and Sakura were wandering around the house, trying to find Inari. Naruto was going to pummel the boy while Sakura went to make sure the blonde didn't get carried away. She sighed as he started growling again when they walked up the stairs, him in front and her following just behind.

"Grrrrrr, who does that brat think he is? I'll put him in his place right now and he'll never insult ninja again!" Naruto promised, stepping up the final stair.

"Uh huh. Sure, Naruto." Sakura muttered, not really paying attention. He stormed down the upstairs hall, Sakura walking lightly behind him, before he heard crying coming from inside one of the rooms.

'_Huh?'_ Naruto asked mentally, looking into the room. _'He's crying?'_

Inari was sat on a desk by the window, his head bowed and tears spilling from his eyes. His shoulders shook with every loud sop and choked hiccup that escaped his throat and passed his lips. The tears streaming down his face made it seem as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at him recently or something similar. Not ever the sea birds' cawing could cover the noise of the boy's sadness.

In Inari's hands was a framed photograph of a man with spiky black hair, a white rope around his forehead and tanned skin. His eyes were closed and the bottom of the photo was jagged, as if the man was ripped from another picture. Inari's tears fell on the glass covering the photo.

"No Otou-san, no!" He cried though the thick sobs. Naruto and Sakura could only stand and watch the boy cry; the former with a heavy heart and the latter with sad eyes.

[--

The following day, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi stood the forest close to Tazuna's house to train. Kakashi, who was using crutches to support himself, stood just in front of a tree as he taught while Sakura stood in front of him, Naruto and Sasuke to her left and right respectively.

"Alright." Kakashi began. "Your training begins now."

"Right!" Naruto cheered, swinging his tanned right arm over Sakura's paler shoulders. She glared at him, but didn't move to make him take his arm away from her shoulders. Sasuke, seeing this, glared too.

"First, we will begin with a review of chakra. A ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential." Kakashi stated, putting up one finger. _'Hmm, this is better than my book! Sasuke's jealous of the close bond Sakura and Naruto share. Naruto has a huge crush on Sakura! Sasuke likes her too, just as much! Sakura, just to add to the tension, is completely oblivious to it all! Oh I love teaching!'_

"We know that." Sasuke stated obviously, gently sliding his closest arm around Sakura's waist. Sakura turned and glared at him, but he just shrugged and she didn't make him let go. Smirking inwardly, Sasuke counted the scores he had been adding since they became a team a few weeks ago. Naruto: 9. Sasuke: 11. Oh yeah!

"He's right. A long time ago we learned about…Uhh…Catra!" Naruto stated in what he believed to be a smart and all-knowing tone.

"Chakra." Kakashi corrected with a sigh. "Could you explain this to him, Sakura?"

"Fine." She sighed, stepping out of the one-way hugs the boys had put her into and she now stood in front of them.

"Thanks." Kakashi said.

"Now listen closely, 'cos I'm only saying this once! I'll explain simply so that even _you_ can understand it. See? I even wrote a scroll and it has pictures to demonstrate what I mean." She stated, taking out an orange scroll with 'secret teachings' written on it. When opened, the scroll said 'Scroll of chakra, a lesson from the beautiful and young kunoichi of team seven'.

"Wow! The scroll describes you perfectly!" Naruto gushed when he read it.

"Whatever. Listen up. Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in performing his or her jutsu. It is the source of all his or her power when not concerning raw taijutsu. With me so far?" She asked.

"You bet, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke, for his part, looked impressed at her knowledge.

"Now, this energy has two forms. Physical energy, which exists in all the cells in the entire body all working together, and spiritual energy, the primal source of power which is intensified though training and experience. As you see, these two things must be brought out and draw together in order to perform jutsu. Finally, hand signs focus and unleash the chakra." She concluded, showing the sign for 'tiger'.

"Right on all points." Kakashi noticed. "Iruka-sensei really _did_ have some excellent students."

"Pff, whatever." She shrugged, throwing the scroll to Naruto. _'How would he know whether Iruka-sensei taught me that or I picked it up before I joined the Konoha academy?'_

"Ah! What's the big deal with all these complicated explanations? The whole point is to learn the jutsu, isn't it?" Naruto asked in frustration of being out-done again, even if he could willingly admit that Sakura was a great ninja.

"Naruto's right for once. We're already using chakra energy in our jutsu, so why are you bothering to explain?" Sasuke agreed, although he _was_ enjoying listening to Sakura speak.

"No!" Kakashi reprimanded. "You haven't _mastered_ this method, you've barely even scratched the surface of it."

"What do you mean?!" Naruto asked heatedly.

"Calm down and listen. It's just like Sakura said. You must draw out both physical and spiritual energies and then you have to combine them within yourself. But, how do you do that?" He asked. "Each jutsu requires different types of chakra in different proportions. You must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up to now, you've just _guessed_ at the proportions, hoping they'd come out right."

"Huh?" Naruto questioned.

"Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control it, it's all worthless. The jutsu wont work at all, or it'll just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way. Then you're out of chakra and you can't fight at all, making you nothing but a target." The older man stated wisely.

"Uh…so how do we change that?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"How? Well, you train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes like a second nature. To achieve this goal, you must be ready…to put your life on the line." He finished dramatically.

"So, how do we do that?" Sasuke asked, annoyed by all the speaking that was going on. Kakashi chuckled at them.

"Climb a tree." He stated.

"CLIMB A TREE?!" They echoed loudly in disbelief.

"That's right. But, there's just one rule. You can't use your hands." He told them, holding up his own slightly.

"You're…kidding…right?" Sakura asked slowly.

"Am I? Well, let's see." He said, placing his hands in the tiger seal. The dirt around his feet shifted slightly with the sudden addition of chakra to his feet, but then stilled. He then picked a tree and walked over to it using his crutches as support. To further prove his point, Kakashi stepped up onto the tree and began to walk up it slowly.

"He's climbing!" Naruto stated in awe.

"Straight up! And he's not even using his hands!" Sakura added. Once Kakashi reached a thick, long branch, he walked out and stood upside-down on it. Kakashi faced his students and looked at the pure astonishment on Naruto and Sasuke's faces as Sakura's own became calculating.

"Well, you get the idea." He drawled lazily. "Focus the chakra towards the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra." Kakashi ended with a curve of his eye, indicating a smile under the mask.

"Wait a minuet! That's a nice trick, but how does it help us fight Zabuza or anything?" Sakura asked.

"It's the only way to fight him, Sakura. That's the entire goal of this training session." Kakashi said seriously. "You learn to pull a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body. Even for advanced ninja, this is difficult. This type of climbing requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy, and the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to focus chakra. To put it bluntly, if you can master this then you can master any jutsu. Well, theoretically." He stated.

"Really? Cool!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, moving on. The second point is being able to maintain your chakra levels. When a ninja is focused in battle, this is even harder to do. A deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining chakra must become like second nature. Effortless." Kakashi concluded. "Well, I can talk about this all day, but that wont advance your skills now, will it. You need to apply the power of chakra though training."

Kakashi took three kunai out of his holster and threw them at the ground so that there was one in front of each of his Genin charges. The three looked at the kunai in question.

"What do we do with these?" Naruto asked.

"Use the kunai I gave you to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get passed that mark the next time and the next and the next and so on. At first, you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum can take you a high as possible…until you get used to it. Ready?" Kakashi asked.

The Genin each took the kunai from the ground in front of them respectively and held the weapon tightly in their hand. Naruto had a look of pure determination on his face as Sasuke remained impassive and Sakura looked as though she was remembering something.

"I'm so much more than ready! This training is gonna be no sweat all the way! Dattebayo!" Naruto claimed. "Remember what you said, sensei. I'm the one who's grown the most!"

"Well, you're defiantly the one out of you three who talks the most. Now get focused and do it!" Kakashi told the blonde. Sakura untied the black ribbon from her wrist and used it to tie her hair up in a ponytail high on her head, leaving two long bangs free to frame her pale face.

'_Well, he did say that.'_ Naruto assured himself as he preformed the tiger seal to gather his chakra. Sakura and Sasuke did the same.

'_Okay, first I need to draw the chakra to the bottoms of my feet.'_ The three thought in union. The ground under the three shifted, signalling that they had all successfully gathered their chakra.

"I got it!" Naruto claimed happily. "CHARGE!" He yelled, running towards his chosen tree at full speed. The boy only managed to take two small steps up the tree before he fell back and hit his head on the ground.

Sasuke was a bit more successful and made it up a full fifteen steps before the bark cracked under his foot and he had to mark the tree before falling back. He landed on his feet and observed the rather impressive height he had travelled.

'_This is harder than I thought.'_ He noticed. _'The balance has to be perfect, no questions asked. If the chakra is too strong than it smashes the tree and pushes you off.'_ Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was rolling around and nursing his head. _'But if it's not strong enough, you just tumble right back down, like Naruto.'_

"That about what I expected from Sasuke…and Naruto." Kakashi noted, looking at the two as they tried their best.

"Hey, I've never been this high up before!" A joyous female voice called out from above, gathering the attention of all the boys in team seven.

"Huh?" Sasuke cried quietly in shock.

"Wha-?" Naruto asked, looking up from holding his head in pain. "Sakura-chan!"

Sure enough, sitting near the top of the tree on the highest branch thick enough to hold her, Sakura sat with a small smirk, which almost looked like an attempt at a smile, on her face. She laughed as the wind picked up had long bags and caused them to dance around her face, tickling her cheeks.

"Well, the female on the squad has the most advanced chakra control out of everyone. Well done, Sakura." Kakashi congratulated. _'She's amazing at this! I've never seen such raw talent!'_

'_Hmph. If I'm not good at this from all my past training in chakra control, then I might as well quit being a ninja!'_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Hmm, I've never even heard of this training technique before now, but it sure is fun!" Sakura admitted.

"Never heard of this? But, you must have learnt chakra control somewhere before now. Iruka-sensei told me that your ability in chakra control was outstanding from the moment you joined the Konoha academy two years ago." Kakashi prompted.

"I learnt it before, but not this way…" She trailed off, remembering exactly how she was made to control her chakra.

[--

"_If you don't press the chakra to the soles of your feet in time, then you can't escape, Sakura!" A man called out to the pink-haired six-year-old in front of him. To each side of the man was a small boy, around seven-years-old. All of them wore a Hatei-ate with four snowballs carved into the metal to represent their village._

"_Escape? From what?" The girl, Sakura, questioned emotionlessly._

"_From this." He told her, performing a jutsu so quickly that no normal ninja would have been able to tell._

_The floor below the girl shifted and she dropped into a pit when the floor split in two. Holding back the cry of pain she wanted desperately to release when she landed wrong and she broke her ankle, Sakura stood shakily and looked around her. Nothing._

_All of a sudden, the wall began closing in on her and kunai were short from the wall and floor. The sharp weapons pierced her skin and clothing, giving the small girl serious cuts. She refused to cry out or beg for her teacher to stop though, and just gritted her teeth._

_Focusing chakra to the soles of her feet and her hands as her sensei had taught her to, she began to climb the wall. When kunai sprung out of the wall and ripped right though her palms, she was forced to only use her feet to climb with._

_Upon reaching the top, Sakura was engulfed in a hug from one of her team mates. Yes, even at this young age Sakura was part of a team, all of them the same age as her. Where she is from, children are pushed from a very young age to become ruthless ninja._

"_Thank Kami-sama you're alright, Sakura-chan!" A young boy with harlequin green hair and maroon eyes sighed in relief as he released her from his hug._

"_Do you need any help, Sakura-chan?" He other team mate, the identical twin of the first boy, asked in a serious tone._

"_Hoshi Taiyoo, Hoshi Tsuki; get away from her. Your team mate needs no pity or help. Sakura is of the Haruno clan. She should be able to take care of herself, right?" The man who made her fall in the pit scolded._

"_Hai, Haruno-sensei!" The twins cried in union._

"_Hai…Otou-sama." Sakura muttered._

[--

"Hm? Anything on your mind, Sakura." Kakashi prompted, wanting to know what she was thinking about.

"None of your business." She snapped coldly. _'The people of Konoha will never know true suffering like the training forced onto children of Yukigakure.'_

"Way to go, Sakura-chan! I always knew you were awesome! I never doubted you! Dattebayo!" Naruto stated proudly. _'Even though I __**am**__ a little jealous.'_

"Whatever." Sasuke grunted, turning away from the kunoichi who could always best him. He glared at the ground and clenched his fists. It wasn't that he wasn't happy for her, but it ticked him off whenever he was proven to be second-best to someone. That feeling only doubled when he was compared to a girl.

"Well, not only does Sakura _understand_ chakra the best, but she can also control and maintain it as well." Kakashi stated happily. "We spoke about _someone_ becoming Hokage one day, didn't we? Seems like Sakura has got the best chance of that, wouldn't you agree?" He mocked, causing Naruto to growl. "And as for the great Uchiha clan…maybe they're not so great after all." He said, making Sasuke glared at him, then Sakura and finally returning the glare to the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and glared. Silent promises, bets and deals were made all in that one look. A promise to be the best Genin out of the two. A bet that one would win. And finally, a deal to give up on flirting with Sakura if one defeated the other.

'_Alright. I think they're motivated now. Hehe, if what I see is right then they just used the secret way of silent bet-making that can only be used between males to try and get the other to back off of Sakura. Ah, so much better than my books…'_

"Alright! First I'll match up with Sasuke, then I'm going all the way up to the top! Dattebayo!" Naruto promised himself.

[--

Not too far from the training Genin, Inari watched them from behind a tree so that they wouldn't see him. He glared at the ninja without them knowing and took a few steps away.

"Huh. What a waste of time. These guys don't even know what their up against!" He stated to himself. Inari then remembered the picture of his father and clenched his fists. "They'll just die."

"Oh really?" A girl asked from behind him. Inari turned quickly to see who it was, hoping that it wasn't a girl from the village, and saw the pink-haired ninja girl. Blushing, both from being caught and because the girl was in front of him, Inari said the first thing that came to mind.

"But…b-but, you're over there!" Inari yelled, pointing to the kunoichi sitting in the tree. Sakura looked to where he was pointing and smirked.

"No…I_was_ over there. That's just a clone. Those things _do_ come in handy when I want to ditch my team." She said with a laugh. "Come on, I wanna talk to you."

[--

In a hut hidden deep in the forest, Zabuza was lying in a bed with Haku sitting near him. The latter had his mask still off. When the door opened and a small group of people stepped into the room, Haku looked towards them and glared heatedly.

A short man sporting wild grey hair, black sunglasses and a black suite with a yellow shirt and red tie stood by the door. two other men stood either side of him like bodyguards. One was very tall with a patch over his eye and the other was tall, but not as tall as the former, with a black cap on his head.

"Some Jounin you turned out to be." The short man mused. "The unbeatable ninja just got beat, limping back home like some pathetic has-been. Heh. Demon of the hidden mist? Ahahaha! More like _coward_ of the hidden mist!"

Haku rose swiftly from his chair, and the two bodyguard-like men on either side of the shorter man readied their swords to attack. The short man just stood there, unfazed by what was going on. He did, in actual fact, stand as if he were having tea with his mother and not in the presence of a man who looked to be able to kill him in an instant.

"Drawing swords?" Haku asked, not turning to face the new-comers.

"Hang on a minuet." The short man ordered, stepping towards Zabuza with Haku carefully watching his every move. "All right, let's hear what you have to say about this fiasco…and don't play _possum_, I know you can talk." He reached out to uncover Zabuza's mouth, but was stopped when Haku took a firm grip on his wrist. The man gasped in surprise at the sudden contact, but soon growled.

"Keep your filthy hands off of him." Haku growled warningly before tightening his grip on the man's arm, steadily crushing the bone.

"Ahh! You're gonna break it!" Shorty cried. His bodyguards were slow to react to the threat, but both moved to draw their swords. Haku turned to face them and before either could blink, he was between the two, holding their own swords at their necks.

'_That is impossible!'_ The one with the eye patch thought in awe.

'_No one could move that fast!'_ The one in the cap noted.

"Don't push me." Haku warned. "I'm in a really foul mood." He threw the swords across the floor and the short man walked to his guards.

"Grrrrr! One chance! That's it!" The man promised. "If you fail this time, I'll cut you off and there'll be no one left to cover for you!" He warned the two ninja. "Lets go." And with that he turned and left with his lackeys following closely behind him. When the door closed, Haku returned to his seat.

"Haku." Zabuza said in a scolding tone. "That wasn't necessary." He told the boy, holding the kunai he had in his hand under the covers even tighter than before.

"Perhaps. But it's too early to take out Gato. He's still our best cover at the moment. Think about it. The murders would draw their attention, and then they'd be after us again." He said, thinking of a group of _real_ Kirigakure tracker-nins. "We need restraint."

"Right." Zabuza sighed.

[--

"I have a question, Sakura-nee-chan." Inari told her.

"Go on, Inari-chan." Sakura prompted.

"Well, I over-heard that blonde boy say something in his sleep about a scroll of sealing and how you memorised it. Is that true?" The younger boy asked her.

"I'm not that good at jutsu, but I am a _damn good_ liar! I only said that I memorised the scroll as a trick so that Mizuki-teme, someone who was after the scroll, would believe I'd really burn it. I did look at the scroll when I first entered Konoha, but only memorised one or two of the jutsu inside it. In truth, it took me _much_ longer than it took Naruto to learn the Kage Bunshin no jutsu, let alone the rest." She told him.

"Oh." Inari nodded. "So you weren't always a leaf village ninja?"

"No." Sakura said with a chuckle.

"Where did you come from then, onee-chan?" He asked innocently.

"I came from…Yukigakure, the village hidden in the snow." She told him wistfully.

"I bet you have a lot of good memories, huh?" The boy shrugged.

"…I have…very few good memories from my entire life, Inari-chan."

[--

Back with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura's clone, the two younger boys of the team were still trying their best to reach the top of the tree as Sakura had.

Naruto ran up at least seven steps, using the kunai to mark his newest accomplishment before falling back and hitting his poor, spiky blonde head again. He crouched into a ball and held his head, trying to lessen the pain once more.

Sasuke was kneeling on the ground, panting, with his kunai next to him as he observed the steadily raising marks he had been making on the tree.

Sakura's clone was still sitting in the tree, waiting for the real Sakura to get back from her talk with Inari.

After five minuets of Naruto and Sasuke running up and down the tree, the real Sakura came back and took the clone's place on the tree, dispelling her Bunshin. She swung her legs back and forth a few times, enjoying the wind blowing though her long hair, before jumping down and twisting in the air a few times, landing gracefully on her feet at the base of the tree.

The pinkette watched Naruto rubbing his head.

'_He isn't making any progress at all! Poor Naruto…'_ She thought. _'Knowing him, he'll just give up round about now and throw a tantrum.'_

True to her thoughts, Naruto looked at his measly marks and began to stomp his feet in aggravation. Sakura rolled her eyes.

'_Heh. He is so predictable that I'm almost embarrassed.'_ Sakura thought with a mental shudder.

Naruto looked at his marks again, then his pink haired team mate and nodded to himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself, knowing that Sakura would kill him if he yelled at her, and walked over to the pinkette as she looked up at the sky.

"Naruto?" She asked when she saw him crouch down beside her laying form and cup his mouth with his hands.

"Hey, you're good at this, Sakura-chan." He whispered to her. "Do you think you could give me some advice?" Naruto asked hopefully. Sasuke noticed his two team mates talking and looked over at them. "The thing is…could you not tell Sasuke I asked? Please, please?"

'_Naruto is really catching on.'_ Kakashi thought as he looked at Naruto whisper to Sakura. _'From now on, he'll just keep getting stronger and stronger. How strong? After all, Naruto possesses more chakra than Sasuke.'_ He saw Naruto grin as Sakura agreed to help him. _'In fact, the amount of chakra he possesses is greater than my own…and Sakura? Hm, she is just one big mystery.'_

The Land Where a Hero Once Lived

Sakura yawned as she sat on the edge of Tazuna's unfinished bridge, watching the workmen and listening to her Inner self rate them on cuteness. So far, not even one man as rated a full 10 and the highest score is a 6.

"You always this lazy?" Tazuna asked her as he walked passed, carrying a long, heavy metal bar. "Hey, where's that weird blonde kid and the one with the attitude?" He asked, referring to Sasuke and Naruto.

"They're training. Climbing a bunch of trees." She explained, waving a hand in dismissal.

"Too tough for you?" He asked her mockingly.

"No…in fact I'm the best at it. That's why my sensei sent me here to guard you while they try to reach my standards." She shot back. The bridge builder stopped walking and looked at her, sweat coving his face from the heavy lifting.

"You have got to be joking." He commented with a serious face, although he was just teasing her. This was his way of getting her back for all the cracks about his bridge and the situation the Lang of Waves was in at the moment.

Sakura scowled at him coldly, but got up and gave him a hand with putting down the bar when she saw that he was about to break his neck with it. She grabbed one end as he lowered the other and they put it on the floor as a man, who was also working on the bridge, approached the two with a sheepish look on his face.

"Tazuna! I need to talk to you." He said to get his boss's attention. Tazuna looked over at him as Sakura took her seat again and crossed her arms.

"Eh? What about?" Tazuna asked gruffly.

"Uhh…the thing is, I've been thinking a lot about the bridge and I've decided that I've pushed my luck far enough. I want to stop." He admitted boldly.

"Now you're going to quit of me?! Just like that?!" Tazuna asked in rage, spitting his words at the quitter. "You have got to be kidding!"

"You know, I stayed on because of our friendship. But I'm putting my life on the line every day that I stay here. Gato and his thugs will show up eventually." He said in a rush. Tazuna narrowed his eyes. "When they do, they'll kill you and the bridge will never get finished anyway. It's a lost cause, Tazuna. Why don't we stop now, while we can still get out of this alive?"

"No chance." Tazuna replied stubbornly. "This is _our_ bridge. Our island is poor, which that little brat reminds me about every day, and it will stay that way until this bridge connects us to the mainland! Trade and hope; that's what we're building here!"

"There's not gonna _be_ much hope of we're all dead." The man stated in a way that could even bring Naruto out of happiness.

"It's already noon." Tazuna noticed, walking passed the man. "Let's break for lunch."

"Tazuna! Let's not end it like this." He pleaded.

"Save your breath. Oh, and Gichi, don't bother coming back after lunch today or any other day." The master bridge builder told him.

[--

"Argh! Why is this so hard?!" Naruto screamed to himself as he fell back down the tree again.

Both he and Sasuke were panting and exhausted, but neither wanted to be the first to give up. They were both sitting on the ground, observing how far they had gotten so far. The boys looked at each other and glared heatedly before standing up fast.

'_I'm not going to lose to you!'_ Naruto thought determinedly.

'_I can beat this dobe…I know I can.'_ Sasuke encouraged himself.

They ran at full speed to their marked trees and continued to push themselves to be the best.

[--

The Land of Waves is known for its trade and sea-based products, meaning a busy town. Said town is now where we find Tazuna and Sakura, walking though the busy streets. Around Sakura right shoulder and sitting on her left hip was her black and red messenger bag. On Tazuna's right shoulder hung his own pack.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked as she looked around the crowds of walking men and women.

"You wanna eat tonight, don't you? I gotta pick up some things for dinner or there wont be any." Tazuna explained. Sakura nodded and continued to look around.

Walking along by the side of the road was a thin, sick-looking man with a sign hanging from his neck reading; 'Will do any kind of work'. Just up the road was a boy, running towards them carrying a loaf of bread in each hand and a man running after him, yelling 'thief'. Two teenage boys, probably only a year or two old than herself, were sitting on a blanket by the side of the road…homeless.

'…_I don't even know what to think…'_ Sakura told her Inner in a depressed tone.

'_**Oh, Tazuna! I'm sorry I bad-mouthed this place!'**_ Inner wept overdramatically.

"Here we are." Tazuna pronounced as they stopped at the entrance to a small food shop.

"Welcome." The man at the counter bid as they stepped in. His voice was frail, as if he had a cough or infected throat.

The two looked around the shop, although Sakura wasn't doing so with as much normality as Tazuna. All she could do was glare at the near-empty shelves and the dirty floor and walls. Very few fruits and vegetables were laid across the shelves, but at least none were mouldy or half-eaten.

'_This is a store? There's nothing here.'_ Sakura thought to herself, but Inner heard it too.

'_**Cha! These poor people!'**_

A man walked behind Sakura and looked at the large bag handing over her shoulder. Greed overtook his common sense and he didn't even take the time to notice the dangerously stoic face or the demonic eyes of the girl. He reached towards the bag, but missed and his hand landed right on her butt.

Sakura tensed under the touch, but not just because she hated being touched. No, she actually had a more valid reason this time. Man's hand + Sakura's butt DANGER!

"YOU PERVERT!" She yelled, kicking him in the jaw and sending him flying back from the force.

"No…I was just…!" He said, trying to explain, but not another word leaked from his mouth as Sakura growled and glared at him. To say that the man sprinted as if he were being chased by demons baring the promise of death would be the biggest understatement of the century.

[--

"Wow, you really surprised me back there." Tazuna complimented as they walked back to his house. "Girls around here don't fight like that."

"They should. Something is _seriously_ wrong here." Sakura stated with a frown. She then felt another hand grab her butt and growled._'AGAIN?!'_

'_**CHA! KICK THE PERVERT'S BUTT!'**_ Inner seethed.

"Hey, buster!" She yelled, fully intending to take out, kill and/or mentally scar this new guy. However, when she turned to face the butt-grabber, she was met with the shocked face of a little boy, around nine or ten years of age.

The boy's hair was bushy and looked as if it had never met a comb, but his eyes were a pretty shade of aquatic blue. His clothing was a brown shirt, which looked more like a potato sack than anything else, and a pair of blue, torn up trousers with ratty sandals. Painted across his cheeks was a light blush.

"Please?" He said, holding out his hands. With a big smile, the beggar-boy laughed a bit and made it seem as if having to beg for food and money was fun. Sakura's shoulders relaxed and she looked at the little boy with kind eyes.

"What's you name?" She asked quietly, crouching down to his level.

"Taiyoo." He answered. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat and she felt something burning behind her eyes.

"Really? I knew a guy named Taiyoo when I was a kid." She told him sweetly, like a big sister talking to her brother. "He was very brave. I bet you're brave too."

"Yep! I have to be to take care of Okaa-san and my Imouto." He told her with a big grin on his face. Sakura smiled –a true smile– and brushed some of his hair away from his face.

"Hold on. I've got something for you." Sakura said softly, reaching into her bag. "Here." She said, taking out a few pieces of colourfully wrapped candy. The boy's eyes widened as if he were seeing heaven or a miracle and he took the candy, but didn't snatch.

"Oh, thank you, aneki!" He praised, calling Sakura his 'big sister'. Sakura stood to her full height and nodded, still holding that smile on her face and tears in her eyes. The little boy smiled again and ran off, waving his hand in the air. As soon as the boy was gone, Sakura wiped the smile from her face.

"This is how it's been since Gato came here." Tazuna told her. "The children suffer, and the adults are afraid to stand up to him. They've lost all hope. That's why we have to finish the bridge. It will bring more promise and good trade, but much more importantly than that, that bridge is a symbol of courage. We, the builders of that bridge, must restore the spirit of our people. When the bridge is finished, people will start to believe again. We can't let Gato stop us."

"I understand." Sakura said, her voice cracking as a tear fell from each of her eyes and slid down her face. Tazuna saw it and smiled a little.

"Heh…you call me a cry baby?" He asked, joking.

"You are." Sakura said with a smirk. "But…you have every right to be."

"I'm willing to bet…that you do too."

[--

Back with Sasuke and Naruto, both were once again running up their trees. In perfect step, they continued up until the bark snapped under Naruto's foot and he was forced to mark the tree and kick off. He landed on his feet and looked to his mark. Sasuke, on the other hand, kept going further up.

'_He's still climbing!'_ Naruto though, panting. _'That's impossible!'_

Sasuke lost his focus and slipped up, marking the tree before falling back yet again. He kicked off from the two trees, hopping between them to keep his speed down so that he wouldn't hit the ground too hard and cause himself to get injured.

'_Gah! He's catching up to me inch by inch!'_ Sasuke noticed before he landed on his feet. Naruto looked at him and growled. He shook his head and tried to focus again.

'_No! No! No! If I think about Sasuke I'll lose my concentration! I can still beat him! Dattebayo! Come one Naruto…centre yourself.'_ He thought, performing the tiger seal and thinking back to what Sakura told him before she left.

[--

_Naruto looked at his marks again, then his pink haired team mate and nodded to himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself, knowing that Sakura would kill him if he yelled at her, and walked over to the pinkette as she looked up at the sky._

"_Naruto?" She asked when she saw him crouch down beside her laying form and cup his mouth with his hands._

"_Hey, you're good at this, Sakura-chan." He whispered to her. "Do you think you could give me some advice?" Naruto asked hopefully. Sasuke noticed his two team mates talking and looked over at them. "The thing is…could you not tell Sasuke I asked? Please, please?"_

"_Okay. Chakra requires __**spiritual**__ energy, so if you get all frantic, then is sure as hell wont work!" Sakura informed him._

"_Sakura-chan! I'm not frantic!" He replied._

"_Are you gonna listen or what?" She snapped at him._

"…_Sorry." He mumbled._

"_Whatever. Anyway, like I was say, you can't get all frantic. You need to relax and totally focus on the tree. That way, you get a steady chakra flow in the bottoms of your feet."_

[--

'_Relax…focus on the tree…'_ Naruto thought. He felt his chakra pooling in the soles of his feet. _'YES! I can feel it! I'm so going to go all the way this time!'_ He claimed, crying out and running to his tree.

"Hey! Naruto!" Sasuke called to him, causing the blonde to lose his footing and fall flat on his face.

"GAH! Sasuke-teme! What're you doing?! I was trying to focus my chakra, teme!" Naruto yelled at him, getting up with a look on his face that so clearly said; 'I'm-gonna-kill-you-if-you-don't-give-me-and-good-reason not-to'.

"Well, uh…you know…the thing is…" He stressed out sheepishly, obviously embarrassed to say what he had to say.

"The thing is…what?" Naruto asked him in aggravation. _'That's strange. He never talks to me. What's he up to?'_

Sasuke, to be fair, seemed to genuinely be struggling with his pride to say what he needed to say. He never once looked at Naruto, for he was too embarrassed, and kept kicking the dirt below his feet every few seconds in nervousness. His eyebrow twitched as he started again.

"You…You know…You asked Sakura for advice when she was here? So what did she tell you?" He asked, trying to make it seem like a casual question and he wasn't at all curious. Naruto looked at him in shock for a few seconds before breaking out in a knowing grin.

"I'm not telling _you_." Naruto informed him, trying his best to keep from laughing. Sasuke's eyes widened and his head snapped in Naruto's direction so fast he got whiplash. The boys glared at each other.

[--

In Tazuna's home, everyone was chowing down on the food Tsunami had made with the limited supplied Tazuna and Sakura purchased in town that day. Little did anyone know, Sakura had made the entire meal to give Tsunami a well-deserved break. However, she had made Tsunami promise not to tell anyone for the sake of her reputation.

At the moment, Sasuke and Naruto were sitting opposite each other at one end of the table with Sakura between them and Kakashi next to the orange-clad ninja. Tazuna was sat opposite Sakura, at the head of the table, Inari was next to Sasuke and Tsunami was doing the dishes.

"Ahahaha! This is fantastic! It's been ages since we've had so many guests around our table." Tazuna informed them. Naruto and Sasuke were too busy inhaling their food and demanding more to notice. They both finished their food and stood, bowl in hand.

"I want some more!" They yelled in union. Noticing that the other had said the same thing at the same time, they then proceeded in glaring electricity at each other. The glares didn't last too long, since they then puked up their food on the floor.

During this whole thing, Sakura was eating her food politely with a steadily growing irritation mark and, when the puking started, a very disturbed face. She was on her last nerve and the two had just picked up chainsaws and cut it.

"DON'T EAT SO DAMN MUCH IF ALL YOU'RE GOING TO DO IS PUKE IT ALL BACK UP!" She screeched.

"I…have to eat." Sasuke told her, wiping his mouth from the trails of puke at the corner.

"I have to eat more than him. It's the only possible way I'll get strong enough to beat him." Naruto added, also wiping his mouth.

"That's true…but…puking wont help you." Kakashi told them with a large sweat drop.

"Hey! My daughter spent her time and effort making this meal! If all your going to do is be sick, don't waste it!" Tazuna yelled at them. Tsunami turned around and saw the boys before gasping.

"Oh no!" She cried.

"That's right, you little-" Tazuna began, but he was cut off when his daughter spoke again.

"Sakura, your food! They're wasting it!" She finished. Sakura's eyes widened and she dropped both her jaw and her chopsticks.

"Sakura?!" Sasuke asked in shock, looking down at his empty bowl.

"YOU COOK?!" Naruto yelled, also looking at the once food-filled bowl in front of him.

"Well…that was unexpected." Kakashi said as he watched Naruto yell questions at Sakura and Sasuke just looked between her and the empty bowl. Sakura, for her part, was glaring at an apologetic Tsunami.

[--

Later that evening, when Sasuke and Naruto had gotten over the fact Sakura could cook and Tsunami had made tea, everyone was sitting around the table with a cup of Ginseng tea. Tsunami was still doing dishes rather than drinking the tea.

Naruto was gulping down the tasty liquid without spilling a drop. Sakura sipped her calmly, looking up at the torn picture Inari had told her about earlier. Sasuke also noticed the photo as he drank his tea.

"Hey, your picture is torn." He stated, pointing to the photo. Sakura's eyes widened. "Is there some reason for it?" The Uchiha boy added, taking another sip of tea. "The brat kept and Sakura were both looking at it all though dinner. It looks like there was someone else in the picture, but they got torn out." He said. Sakura put down her half-full cup and looked at Inari, who froze when Sasuke mention it.

"It was my husband." Tsunami told him quickly, not once turning from her chore.

"They used to call him a hero in this land." Tazuna added quietly. Inari stood up from the table without a word and began to walk away, not looking up and hiding his face beneath the rim of his hat.

"Inari, where're you going?" Tsunami asked her son as he opened the door and walked out. "Father, you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari. You know that!" She scolded, moving to go after the small boy when Sakura stood from the table. Everyone looked at her.

"It was Sasuke's fault for mentioning it. I'll go after him. You go and rest, Tsunami-san." Sakura offered. Tsunami looked at the younger girl in question before nodding and leaving though the door, turning in the opposite direction to where her son went.

"Sakura?" Kakashi said in enquiry. She said nothing back, but simply carried her cup to the sink and left to go after Inari.

"That brat is so…I mean…what happened to him?" Naruto asked, looking at the door both his friend and the brat he spoke of left though.

"Hmm, is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked Tazuna.

"He wasn't his real father. He came into our family later and he brought with him so much happiness. He and Inari were very close." Tazuna told them. "In those days…Inari used to laugh all the time. But then…" Here, the bridge builder paused and tears fell from his eyes. "…all that ended so suddenly. He never laughs or smiles now. Ever since the day everything changed."

[--

"Inari?" Sakura called, going to his bedroom door. "Inari-chan?" She tried again.

"Onee-chan?" Inari asked, his hatless head lifting from his arms. The boy's eyes were full of tears when he looked over to his door to see his 'big sister' standing there. Without warning, Inari ran to her and hugged her as he cried into her stomach. All Sakura did was place a comforting hand on his head as he cried his little heart out.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, Inari-chan." She soothed, stroking his hair comfortingly.

[--

"Ever since that day…ever since _it_ happened." Tazuna began, explaining to the three ninja in the room.

"Tell us…what happened to Inari." Kakashi prompted.

"Before you can understand what happened to Inari, you need to understand who the man taken from the photo is. His name was Kaiza and was a fisherman who came to the Land of Waves in his travels…"

"Oh?" Kakashi said when Tazuna paused.

"Yea…He saved Inari from drowning when a few of the village kids threw his dog, 'Poochie', in the sea and Inari jumped in after him. Of course, the dog could swim and he couldn't. Kaiza showed up and swam out to help Inari. Eventually he became a father figure to my grandson, and taught him the principles of being a man." Tazuna stated.

"What else?" Naruto asked, getting really into the story.

"Well…He became close to Tsunami, as well, and was accepted into the city. After helping to prevent a major flood, he even became known as the hero of our land! Of course, it didn't last long."

[--

"What happened then?" Sakura asked Inari when he stopped after telling her about the flood.

"He was accused of being a terrorist against the Gato Corporation." Inari told her choking down a sob. "And then…he…"

[--

"…he was executed publicly by Gato's men, under his direct and unquestioned orders. With the death of Kaiza, the source of the city's bravery died, too, effectively crushing the spirits of nearly all its inhabitants, particularly Inari's." Tazuna finished, wiping a tear from his eye.

Naruto remembered something.

[--

"_Ha. There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas and fantasies!" Inari said mockingly._

[--

_Inari was sat on a desk by the window, his head bowed and tears spilling from his eyes. His shoulders shook with every loud sop and choked hiccup that escaped his throat and passed his lips. The tears streaming down his face made it seem as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at him recently or something similar. Not ever the sea birds' cawing could cover the noise of the boy's sadness._

_In Inari's hands was a framed photograph of a man with spiky black hair, a white rope around his forehead and tanned skin. His eyes were closed and the bottom of the photo was jagged, as if the man was ripped from another picture. Inari's tears fell on the glass covering the photo._

"_No Otou-san, no!" He cried though the thick sobs. Naruto and Sakura could only stand and watch the boy cry; the former with a heavy heart and the latter with sad eyes._

[--

The blonde scowled at the picture, deep in thought. He made up his mind and got up, only to fall back down. Naruto was exhausted, too tired for his body to function.

"What're you up to, dobe?" Sasuke asked him.

"You better take the day off. No more training. You've used too much chakra. If you push yourself any harder it could kill you." Kakashi told him. Naruto just ignored the wise words of his sensei and struggled to get himself off of the floor.

"I'm going to prove it." He stated, still trying to get up.

"Prove…what?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowing. Naruto stood on shaky lags, holding onto the edge of the table for support. He left go of the edge of the table and clenched his fist.

"I'll prove that…that it's true." He grunted. "That in this world…there _are_ real heroes." The boy finished with a grin.

[--

"Real heroes?" Inari asked the kind ninja with a tough mask put on around almost everyone else.

"Yep. I know there are." She nodded.

"Are you a hero, onee-chan?" He asked, blinking the tears from his eyes.

"…No, I'm not." The pinkette admitted.

"Then…who?" Inari questioned, utterly confused.

"I can think of someone." She mused.

"Who?" Inari asked curiously.

"Wait and see." She teased with a small smile. _'…Naruto…'_


	8. Bridge Battle! Bring It On!

Chapter Eight

Battle on the bridge! Zabuza returns!

In Zabuza and Haku's hut deep in the forest, so it wouldn't be found by anyone who didn't know of its location, Haku was standing at the window, looking out into the lively forest. He reached up and undid his hair, so it fell down to the middle of his back and continued to look into the forest.

[--

Haku, dressed in a light pink kimono with his hair down, sat in a small clearing, picking plants and herbs from the ground and placing them in the small wooden basket beside him. With his choice in clothing and his hair down, it was almost impossible for anyone _not_ to think he was a girl.

A small brown and white bird flew down and landed on his shoulder, causing the Androgyny boy to look to the perched animal. Haku smiled as the bird chirped looked at his face with curiosity. Letting a small chuckle escape his lips, Haku went back to picking herbs.

When the bird suddenly leapt up and flew off, Haku jumped slightly and looked over to the direction of the bird's flight. There he saw a blonde boy wearing an orange, blue and white jumpsuit, lying on the ground, looking completely exhausted. The deep, heavy breaths the boy was taking was enough proof to show he was alive, just tired.

In the blonde's had was a kunai and his eyes were closed, leaving the boy in a sleeping state. Birds landed around him and on his arms and legs, but the boy didn't stir or make a noise in his sleep. Haku gasped and let shock cover his face when a bird pecked the blonde's Hatei-ate.

The symbol on the metal part of the boy's Hatei-ate was what caught Haku's attention though. Konohagakure. Sure enough, Haku remembered this kid from a few days ago. He frowned as the memory entered his mind, unwelcome and unwanted.

"_What is this?! Who do you think you are?!" Naruto asked in rage. "Did you hear me?!"_

Haku rose from the ground with lightly clenched fists and walked over to where Naruto was resting, the birds still gather around the orange-clad body. He stopped in to the side of the blonde, looking down at his sleeping face and reached out his hand to the boy.

The birds fled.

[--

With the others back in Tazuna's home, everyone was just waking up from a good night's rest. Tsunami had already prepared breakfast, without Sakura's help this time, and had placed it out for everyone to dig in when they woke up.

Tazuna, Inari, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tsunami were already in the dining room, the latter not actually sitting but bustling around doing her chores, and Sakura was the last to enter. She had a sour look on her face which made even Sasuke want to shudder. Inari, on the other hand, looked overjoyed to see her, scary face or not.

"Sakura-nee-sama! Good morning!" He greeted, causing everyone to look at him with surprise. Not only had he, the hater of ninja and heroes, just called Sakura his 'big sister', but she seemed to lighten up her mood so she didn't make him upset.

"Morning, Inari-chan." She yawned back. Inari pouted.

"Don't call me Inari-_chan_, onee-sama! I'm a _boy_ not a stupid, weak little _girl_." He complained.

"What was that?" Sakura growled out menacingly.

"Ah! N-Nothing! G-Girls are…g-g-great!" Inari covered badly. Sasuke cleared his throat to stop Sakura from responding before he drank his tea.

"Here." Tsunami offered as Sakura sat down. She placed a bowl of food in front of the pinkette kunoichi.

"Oh, thank you." Sakura muttered, trying to sound polite. Tsunami, despite the fact Sakura failed miserably at trying to leave the cold and nasty tone out of her words, smiled in understanding.

"Naruto's not here?" Tazuna asked. "Looks like he was out all night again."

"Poor Naruto. He's always out climbing trees in the dark." Sakura mumbled so that no one would hear her, but Sasuke did. He was, after all, sitting right next to her. "He could be injured or dying from using too much chakra." She added with, as is sounded to Sasuke, a slightly weaker voice.

"We certainly hope he's okay." Tsunami stated to try and put the kunoichi's mind at ease. "A child, spending a night in the woods alone. It does make one worry."

"There's nothing to worry about. Naruto's a goofy kid, but he's also a fully fledged ninja. He can handle himself." Kakashi assured, talking to Tsunami but also trying to comfort Sakura as he did so.

"Naruto is such a loser; a truly pathetic ninja. He's probably lying out there dead somewhere." Sasuke stated nonchalantly. Sakura gripped the table's edge hard, trying to stop herself from hitting him.

"_As for Sakura…well, she's full of rage, scorn and hate. Not even I know why, but it's there. I can feel it boiling up inside of her every day of her life. One of these days, she'll lash out and kill anyone who stands in her way." Mizuki told Iruka._

"In fact, I wouldn't count on him coming back here at all." Sasuke scoffed as Sakura's grip on the table tightened until it began to crack.

"_One of these days, she'll lash out and kill anyone who stands in her way."_

"Why did we even bring him here in the first place?" The Uchiha asked in a stuck-up way.

"_One of these days, she'll lash out…"_

"I mean, he couldn't even fight up to the standards of an academy student in his first battle." He continued.

"…_she'll lash out…"_

"SHUT UP! You don't know him at all! Naruto's a good ninja! He's not dead and he'll finish training a long time before _you_ do!" Sakura screamed at him before she stood from the table and ran out of the room.

Sasuke looked at the door, which was still hanging slightly open, in shock and slight question. _'Does Sakura really care for Naruto that much? Would she have protected me if Naruto was saying all that stuff?'_ A small voice in the back of his mind yelled 'no' over and over again.

The young Uchiha survivor then looked down to the part of the table the kunoichi was sat and his eyes wandered over to where Sakura's grip was held firmly and he froze. He swallowed hard, in a way which could only be compared to a gulp, and stood up, also going to the door.

"Sasuke? Where are you going?" Kakashi asked his dark-haired pupil.

"For a…walk." Sasuke replied, walking out of the door and closing it gently behind him.

Everyone looked to where Sasuke had been staring and gasped.

The table looked like it was covered in ice and snow.

But the frozen substances were burning right though the wood.

[--

Haku was knelt down beside Naruto, breathing calmly. With a steady hand, he reached over the boy to where the blonde's tanned neck expanded and deflated with every breath he took. Haku's hand stayed above the neck for a while, as if the boy were contemplating where to strangle him, break his neck or just leave him alone.

Thinking better if it, Haku moved his hand to the boy's shoulder and shook it gently, but still harshly enough to wake him.

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep here. Wake up." Haku prompted, still shaking Naruto's shoulder. The latter groaned and opened his eyes slowly, taking in everything around.

He saw Haku's face, which he believed to be a girl, looking down on him and sat up. Haku backed off slightly to give Naruto his personal space back and the blonde rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Once that was done, he looked towards the 'woman' again.

"Who the heck are you?" Naruto asked sleepily, trying to sound just as intimidating as his female friend always did, but only succeeding in sounding like he needed more sleep. "Oh, uh…" He stuttered, see Haku smile. Still believing this was a girl, Naruto blushed. "I mean…um. Hi there. Where did you come from? And, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm gathering herbs." Haku replied.

"Herbs?" Naruto questioned in a slightly loud voice.

"Yes, that's right." He answered with another smile. "They're for treating illnesses and healing wounds."

[--

A few minuets later, Naruto was fully awake and helping Haku, whom he still didn't realise was a man, gather herbs. He picked one off of its stem and twirled it in his hands before sitting back on his butt and looking over at Haku.

"You start work early, huh sis?" Naruto asked the boy, calling him with a girl's title.

"I like it early." Haku admitted, not bothering to correct Naruto about the gender confusion just yet. "It's calm and I really didn't think anyone would be sleeping out here in the woods." He ended. Naruto grinned at the boy.

"I'm training." He stated simply.

"Hm?" Haku asked as he raised his delicate eyebrow. "So, are you a ninja then?" He questioned as if he didn't know. "I did notice that headband you're wearing, or are you just making a fashion statement?"

"You noticed that?" Naruto asked with another blush. "All right! Only super cool ninja can wear these!" He boasted.

"Oh really? I see." Haku stated, pretending to be interested. "That's very impressive. But…does that mean that you're training for something dangerous?"

"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger! Dattebayo!" The blonde told him proudly.

"You seem very strong now; isn't that enough?" Haku enquired.

"No, no! I need to get stronger and stronger and stronger! I have to keep practising!" Naruto exclaimed. Haku narrowed his eyes slightly.

"How so?" He asked. "Why is it so important?"

"So I can become the best ninja in my village! Then everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me!" He claimed. "There's also a certain person, a kid, who I have to prove something to."

"So are you doing it for this certain person?" Haku questioned, now interested in what Naruto had to say. "Or are you doing all this training for yourself?"

"Uhh, huh?" Naruto asked, thoroughly confused. Haku giggled. "What're you laughing about? What's so funny?" He asked in anger.

"Is there…someone who's precious to you?" Haku questioned when he stopped laughing.

"Someone who…what're you saying, sis?" Naruto asked. "Someone who's precious?" He repeated. Haku looked down in sadness at his words. He remembered a memory from long ago.

[--

_A homeless child sat outside in the snow, just to the side of a large metal bin. People passed him, but no one spared him the time of day to give him some help or even a small amount of money._

_Someone walked over and dumped a bag of rubbish in the bin and the child got up quickly to run to it. He rummaged though the trash and rubbish until a growl and two loud barks stopped him. Starving and not wanting any trouble, Haku hit the dog away from him and looked at the creature with blank eyes._

_He turned away and continued to go though the rubbish, but smaller snarls and growls caught his attention. When he turned back to the dog he had hit, two smaller puppies were stood to either side of the unmoving body of the bigger dog. The bigger dog got up again and joined in the growling._

_Haku looked at the canine family with sad eyes._

[--

_Haku was sitting on a stone bridge alone, still in the lightly falling snow but feeling no cold. Feet were herd coming in his direction and a shadow loomed over the younger child. He looked up to see a man with sharp eyes, spiked hair and a Jounin uniform on. The most surprising this was that this man was actually looking at him._

_Not passed him._

_Not though him._

_**At**__ him._

[--

The brunette androgyny broke from his memory and looked up at the orange-clad twelve-year-old again, who was looking at him in thought.

'_Hmm. What's she thinking?'_ Naruto asked himself.

"You see, when a person has something precious they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong." Haku told him. Naruto considered those words carefully. He then remembered his people who had protected him in his life, which he had never really thought of before.

[--

"_Calm down; I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He assured. "I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." Kakashi concluded, turning to the rest of them with a smile._

[--

_The fuma shuriken, the one that was meant for him, was dug firmly into Iruka's back and a lot of blood was falling from his new wound. Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of his teacher risking his life for him. Mizuki's eyes widened and he clenched his teeth._

"_W-Why?" Naruto gasped though his tears._

"_Because we're the same." Iruka told him._

[--

"_If you ever lay a hand on my sensei," Naruto began. "I'll kill you!" He threatened._

[--

"_I'm not killing Naruto. Example or not…never ever ask me to do something like that again." Sakura threatened, her glare becoming colder than ice._

[--

"_Baka! The heroes on that stone are d…dead. They died on missions or in a battle. A ninja's death." Sakura told him mournfully. "And I hope to never see your name on that rock, Naruto." Naruto's grin fell from his face and he paled, looking towards Sakura._

[--

"_Ugh!" Naruto heard as he landed in the water with something heavier than a shuriken on top of him. He opened his eyes and saw that, somehow, Sakura had twisted herself in flight and made the shuriken catch her and not him. It was now digging dangerously far into her right hip._

[--

"Yeah, I hear ya. I know exactly what you're saying." Naruto told the boy with a smile, remembering all the other times Sakura has stood up for him and Hinata. _'I think I have my precious person.'_

[--

"_S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in wonder. Sakura lifted her head and pulled away from her one-sided hug before taking a few steps away from Naruto and turning her back on everyone._

"_Let's get going already! We've wasted enough time here!" She barked, walking quickly in the direction of wave country._

_Naruto looked down on his jacket where Sakura had rested her head and saw a small patch of the orange was darker than the rest and, when he ran a hand over it, it felt a bit damp. She had cried._

[--

"I think I have someone in mind." He told Haku. _'Sakura-chan…'_

"You will get strong. Very strong." Haku told him, picking up the herb-filled basket and standing. Naruto grinned at him. "Goodbye. We'll meet again sometime." He said, walking away. Haku stopped. "Oh, and by the way, I'm a boy." He added as he began walking again.

'_WHAAA! NO WAY! I-I-I-I B-B-BLUSHED! I CALLED HIM "SIS"! I-I-I KEPT THINKING OF WAYS TO ASK HIM OUT! NOOOOO!!!'_

[--

Sasuke was taking his walk, thinking about what had happened back in Tazuna's house and to the table. It looked like it was frozen, but also like the actual wood was melting.

Hearing footsteps ahead of him, Sasuke looked up and saw a girl wearing a pink kimono with long brown hair and brown eyes. As he passed the girl, he felt as if he knew her from somewhere. However, when Sasuke turned around to look at the woman, she kept walking.

Naruto's growling caught his attention, so he turned around to look at the blonde. He was clutching his head, shaking it and nodding a few times, before growling and finally calming down.

"Wow, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before, but this one just takes the cake." He commented. Sasuke walked over to his team mate and punched him on the head. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?!" The blonde asked, clutching his poor, abused noggin.

"Hey, twerp. Did you just forget about breakfast?" He asked gruffly, not wanting to tell Naruto about how Sakura yelled at him. "You're such a loser." He added. Naruto grinned, causing Sasuke to cringe.

[--

"Naruto!" Sakura called, standing next to her sensei. "He could be anywhere right now." She added in a worried voice. Kakashi looked over at his female student and sighed.

'_Aw man…this ruins the ending. It's so obvious that she'll end up with Naruto now. Then again, maybe more boys will come into the picture and try to steal her heart! Oooh! I can't __**wait**__!'_ Kakashi thought excitedly.

"Come on, Naruto! Where are you?!" She called again, biting her lip in fear of his death. Her heart jumped when a kunai landed in front of her, thrown from the top of one of the trees.

Looking up, Kakashi and Sakura saw Naruto laying down on one of the branches, grinning down at them. Sakura's eyes widened at his feat, since everyone thought he would fail constantly.

"What do ya think? High enough for you guys?" Naruto asked, looking right at Sakura for some reaction. "Well, I mean, it's a long way down, huh?" He added, jumping up and landing on his feet on the branch. He slipped and began to fall back off the tree and Sakura's breath hitched.

"NARUTO!" She screamed, closing her eyes. Her body was frozen in fear for her friend and she couldn't move to save him, no matter how hard she tried to.

When she heard no 'thump' or any other noise that would be heard from someone falling to their deaths, Sakura opened her eyes again. Her sight landed on the grinning blonde of her team, hanging upside-down from his branch with his chakra holding him there.

"Haha! Just kidding!" He yelled to them. Sakura released the air she didn't know she had been holding before frowning. "You guys really fell for it!"

"Don't do that, baka!" Sakura scolded.

**'**_**I'm gonna strangle him!'**_ Inner yelled. _**'…Just as soon as I stop crying from the shock of thinking he was dead!'**_

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to end very, very badly in some way or another?" Kakashi asked himself out loud. Just then, Naruto's feet lost the chakra and unattached themselves from the tree.

"Ahh! You just had to push it, didn't you!? Show off!" Sakura screamed at him, getting ready to catch the blonde.

Sasuke, who no one had noticed until now, ran up the tree using his own newly gained chakra skills and hung off the same branch Naruto did, catching the blonde's ankle before he could plummet to his death. Naruto hung limply from Sasuke's grip, too shocked to do anything except sway from side-to-side.

"You really are a total loser, Naruto." Sasuke stated bluntly.

"Wha-? Sasuke?! You're not supposed to save me!" Naruto yelled.

"Should I drop you, then?" He asked, loosening his grip.

"NO! I WAS KIDDING! DON'T DROP ME!" Naruto screeched like a baby, causing Sakura to cover her ears.

"YOU'RE BOTH BAKAS! YOU HAD ME WORRIED SICK!" Sakura yelled at the two boys, who looked down at her.

"SORRY, SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto replied loudly.

"Yeah…what he said." Sasuke answered.

'_If I'm still sane by the time I finish their training, or even this one mission, it'll be a miracle. Oh well. I love to play match-maker and I'm shipping Sasu-Saku!'_ Kakashi cheered to himself.

[--

Inari was in his room, sitting on his windowsill again. He was looking out to the ocean, the picture of his father figure in his hands. However, this time the small boy wasn't crying, nor was he moping or about to burst into tears. No. This time he was contemplating.

"Naruto." He muttered. "Hm. Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

[--

Zabuza crushed an apple easily as he sat on a chair. Haku was stood beside him, completely unfazed by the fruit-abuse that was going on in front of him.

"You're recovery is going well." Haku noticed calmly.

"Just a little longer, Haku." Zabuza grunted, dropping the remains of the crushed fruit on the floor.

"Yes." The boy agreed.

[--

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all stood on the very tip of their chosen trees, looking around them with different expressions. Sasuke wore a smirk at his accomplishment, Naruto grinned as the wind blew passed his face and Sakura's eyes showed childish delight as she watched the fireflies circle her small frame.

"Dobe, Sakura. Let's go back." Sasuke prompted, not letting his smirk falter for a second.

"Alright!" Naruto agreed. "Sakura-chan?"

"I'll stay for a little while longer." She whispered, barely loud enough for her team mates to hear. They shrugged and jumped down, knowing that girls sometimes liked to be left alone.

As soon as they had moved out of sight and out of hearing distance, Sakura leapt from her tree top and onto Naruto's, the tree swaying under the sudden addition of her weight. As soon as the tree stopped moving, Sakura leapt onto Sasuke's old perch, the same action happening again before she moved back to her own tree.

The serine smile slid off of her face when she heard a rustle in the bushes, signalling the weekly visit of the ones who took her from Yukigakure and made her see the true purpose of her life. The very reason she had been trained until she was near death every day of her life.

"Haruno, we need to talk." The lonely visitor stated.

Sakura nodded, taking out a kunai. The speaker did the same and a smirk fell on his face. His golden eyes glinted in amusement as she let her weapon do the glinting.

"Indeed we do. Let's…_talk_."

[--

Everyone in Tazuna's family was gathered around the table for dinner as Tsunami placed down the plates. Kakashi was the only ninja present at the moment, since he knew his team were off training. Inari looked at the place Sakura usually sat with worried eyes.

"K…Kakashi-san…where is onee-sama and the others?" Inari asked shakily, obviously worried for his sister-figure and her team.

Just as the words left his mouth, Sasuke and Naruto stumbled in, cuts and bruises coving their bodies. Sasuke was supporting Naruto's weight, since the blonde was near collapsing, but both held the look of supremacy on their faces. They had more likely than not completed their tree-climbing to an outstanding degree.

"But…where is Sakura-san?" Tsunami asked, worry apparent in her voice.

"She said that she wanted to be alone." Sasuke told her. However, before anyone could say anything else, the door flung open again and the pink haired kunoichi stumbled in.

"Sorry I'm late." She muttered. Naruto and Sasuke let their eyes widen when they saw her cuts. Her body was littered, once again, with scrapes and deep cuts, as well as a good amount of bruises. The boys were scratched up too, but nothing like her. Those cuts were done with a weapon, and they looked almost identical to the ones she had on the day of the orientation.

"S-Sakura-chan…are you okay?" Naruto asked slowly.

"I fine." She hissed with a death glare. "I just tripped and got cut up a bit on the way here."

"You used that excuse during the orientation too." Sasuke noticed. She glared at him.

"I think that we should leave Sakura alone. If she wished for us to know what was going on, she'd tell us." Kakashi said, even though he was worried about her too.

"What have you three been up to, anyway? You look like something the cat dragged in." Tazuna commented bluntly.

"We both made it. Sasuke-teme and I climbed all the way to the top this time!" Naruto pronounced. "Sakura-chan guided up both every step of the way and all three of us stood at the tips of the trees…together!"

"Good. Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you're both going to join Sakura in guarding Tazuna." Kakashi told them.

Naruto and Sasuke, putting aside the worry for Sakura's health as she acted like she was fine, both cheered and Naruto kicked up his leg to dance. However, his victory dance only succeeded in dragging Sasuke and him down to the floor. Sakura, who was just behind them, ended up under the heavy weight of her two male team mates.

"Naruto, you are such a loser." Sasuke commented as he tried to get up.

"Well, your both _really_ heavy!" Sakura panted. Everyone else, except Inari, laughed at the predicament the three Genin had found themselves in.

[--

"In a few more days," Tazuna began as Tsunami cleared the plates from their now finished dinner, "the bridge will be complete. I have you four to thank for that."

"You've all done great, but you still have to be careful." Tsunami reminded them.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, but I haven't had the chance until now." Tazuna admitted. "Why did you choose to stay and protect me, even after you found out that I'd lied to bring you here?"

"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage." Kakashi stated, placing his elbows on the table. "But underneath the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive."

"…Huh?" Tsunami asked, taking the question off of her father's mind.

"That was a quote from the first Hokage." The silver haired man told them.

"Hmm." Inari hummed thoughtfully. He remembered his father and began to cry. "But why?" He asked.

"Hm? What'd you say?" Naruto asked, raising his head off of the table and frowning. Inari stood and slammed his hands of the wooden surface.

"All this training is just a waste of time!" He stated. "Gato's got a whole army behind him! He'll beat you down and they'll destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do; the strong always win and the weak always lose!"

"Just speak for yourself." Naruto glared, brushing Inari off. "It won't be like that for me, you got that?"

"Why don't you be quiet?! Just looking at you makes me sick!" Inari stated, tears running down his face. "You don't know anything about this country! You're just butting in! Always laughing and joking around! You have no idea what it's like being treated like dirt!" He concluded.

A dark shadow fell over the faces of Naruto and Sakura, but the blonde was the only one who said anything. Sakura just sat there, Inari's words running though her head as she fingered an itchy cut on her leg which had ripped though her trousers.

"Listen to yourself! Always whining and complaining like some sort of sorry little victim!" Naruto commented. "You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a coward!" Inari stated to cry heavier than before.

"Inari, I like you like a little brother, but don't go shooting off your mouth when you have no idea about what happened in the past of the people you're talking to." The pink haired ninja warned. "Compared to what I know of Naruto's life and what I saw after I entered Konoha, you have it easy. Then when I think about what happened to Sasuke…you should be thankful that you don't have either of their lives." She snapped at him, not wanting to add her own life into the mix.

Naruto and Sakura stood up to leave, but were stopped when Sasuke's chair scrapped across the floor and he stood up. His own face was shadowed, but when he looked up they saw his past reflecting in his dark onyx eyes.

"Wait up, I'm coming too." He said.

Naruto began to walk again, but Sakura waited until Sasuke was with them to join him. She cast one last look in Inari's direction before shaking her head and walking out with her boys. Inari's sobbing just grew louder and Kakashi looked over in the small boy's direction thoughtfully.

[--

"_Compared to what I know of Naruto's life and what I saw after I entered Konoha, you have it easy. Then when I think about what happened to Sasuke…you should be thankful that you don't have either of their lives."_

[--

'_But what about you, Sakura?'_ Kakashi thought. _'Your own life couldn't have been a walk in the park if you turned out the way you did.'_

[--

Inari sat on the small pier outside his house and looked up at the moon, thinking his 'big sister' and what she had said to him. He noticed how she had left her won life out, but from what she had said to him about when her memories when he asked if she had any good ones, he guessed that she just didn't want anyone to think she had it rough.

"…_I have…very few good memories from my entire life, Inari-chan."_

"Can I talk to you?" Kakashi asked the young boy as he walked up behind him. Inari turned, but offered no answer, so Kakashi just sat down with him. "Naruto can be a little…harsh sometimes, and Kami-sama only knows when Sakura _isn't_ harsh, but neither hate you. In fact, I know that Sakura has grown quiet fond of you."

"She…has?" Inari asked quietly, blushing.

"Yes, but I don't think she'd date you." He added, looking at the blush staining the boy's cheeks get darker. "You know, your grandfather told us what happened…to your father." He said. "You probably don't know this, but Naruto also grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents, and he didn't have a single friend in our village his own age, only his school teacher."

"…Really?" The small boy questioned, looking shocked.

"Still, I've never seen him cry, sulk or give up. He's always…eager to jump in. He just wants to be respected. It is…his dream. He'll put his live on the line for that, in a heartbeat. That's also the reason he likes Sakura so much. She was the first person ever to show respect for him, and she was also the only person ever to stand up for him. My guess is…he just got tired of crying, and decided to do something about it." The sensei sighed.

"Oh." Inari whispered.

"Even though he's young and still learning, he knows what it means to be truly strong…like your father did. I think Naruto knows better than any of us what you are going though. Sakura…my guess would be that her life has been pretty tough too, to turn her into the cold girl she is now. What they told you earlier, not matter how harsh it sounded, was probably something they've told themselves a thousand times."

[--

The next day, the sun was shining brightly again. Naruto was sprawled out over his futon, catching up on the sleep he missed due to the training he had preformed at night.

"Okay." Kakashi started from outside the house. "I leave Naruto in your hands. He's pushed his boy to the limit, over-doing it as usual, so he might not be able to move today at all."

"What about you? You're still recovering too." Tsunami reminded him gently.

"Why? Do I look wobbly? I'll be okay." Kakashi assured her.

"Where is that Haruno girl? I'm gonna be late!" Tazuna barked.

"Oh! Her clothes were damaged, so I gave her some of my old things from when I was a little older than she is now." Tsunami remembered, informing the men. "I'm going to sew her clothes up and give them a quick clean tonight. Strange that she didn't have any clothes spare that weren't damaged in some way or another."

"Well, she'd better hurry up!" Tazuna yelled, looking at the sun.

"I'm here, geez." Sakura muttered, hiding her body from view.

"Well? Are you coming out?" Sasuke asked. Sakura's cheeks turned a little bit pink at the thought of leaving the safety of the doorframe.

"Tsunami…did you _really_ wear this?" Sakura asked. "Wait, let me rephrase that question. Do _I _really _have to _wear this?" She revised. Tsunami smiled and nodded but Sakura wouldn't budge. Kakashi sighed.

"Sakura, we're leaving. You either come with us now, or be the one to tell Naruto we ditched him." Kakashi said, walking away with Sasuke and Tazuna.

"Wait! I'll come. Just promise not to laugh." She muttered. Everyone agreed, so she stepped out. Sasuke's face practically exploded with redness.

Tsunami was a…lover of tight clothing when she was younger, to say the least.

Sakura's all-baggy clothing was replaced by a light orange tank top and a crème-brown mini-skirt. Her skirt had slits up both sides going to her hips and a pair of soft, baby yellow under shorts beneath it, which went down to her knees. She also had light yellow gloves that stopped at her wrists and long, black, open-toed boots, which stopped just below her knees and had a small heel.

The tank top was tight and cut off about three inches below her breasts, leaving almost all of her stomach bare. Tsunami's old clothing showed off every curve on Sakura's body that she was so used to hiding and it made her feel uncomfortable. Her Hatei-ate sat, gently tied at the back, around her neck.

Her body was curvy, for a twelve-year-old, and Sasuke's face looked as red as the fruit he loved. Sakura's skin was pale, but peachy and smooth with a few scars, but nothing too big or noticeable.

Sakura had kunai and shuriken pouches were in there usual places and she had a scowl glued to her face and a small pout on her lips, making her look like a spoiled child who couldn't have her own way. Of course, no one would say that out loud.

"Well, you look different." Kakashi smiled, trying to get Sakura to calm down and stop being so nervous. "Right, Sasuke?" He added, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to help Sasuke catch up to Naruto in the race for her heart.

"Um…you look…good." He stated, causing Kakashi to take his _Icha, Icha_ book and repeatedly slap himself on the forehead with it.

"Thanks…I think. Hold on, I'll just tie my hair back." She said, taking her black ribbon and holding up her hair. Tsunami gasped and snatched the ribbon from Sakura's hands.

"No! I'll do you hair. We can use these." She smiled, magically pulling out two long, pale orange ribbons.

"Do we have to use so much orange and yellow?" Sakura complained as she took back her black ribbon and put it in her kunai pouch.

"Well, it's either orange and yellow or blue and black." Tsunami told her with a small grin. _'And I'm voting Naru-Saku! Orange and pink all the way!'_ She added to herself, going completely against the Sasu-Saku paring Kakashi was supporting.

When Tsunami was done, Sakura's hair was sat in two braided buns at the base of her neck, just behind her ears, with the orange ribbons braided with her hair. Sakura looked in the window, which was the closest thing to a mirror she could see at the moment, and cringed. However, she had to admit that her clothing suited her in a way.

"Yeah, yeah, you look fine. Let's go!" Tazuna declared, leading everyone away from his house and to the bridge.

"You know…you look good, Sakura." Sasuke tried to compliment her as he walked next to the pinkette. He saw her flinch slightly and moved her arms to cover her exposed stomach. She didn't reply, but sped up slightly so Sasuke would be walking behind her. He lowered his eyes and sighed.

[--

Gato sat on a sofa in a large room which had a view of the ocean and, more importantly, the bridge. He wasn't looking at said view, however, since he was too busy talking on the phone.

"Still wasting time licking your wounds?" He asked nastily. "I hired you to do a job, you know! Are you even listening, Zabuza?!"

[--

"_Still wasting time licking your wounds?"_ Zabuza and Haku heard Gato say over the phone they had. _"I hired you to do a job, you know! Are you even listening, Zabuza?! Hey!"_ The two had heard enough and Zabuza stomped on the phone, crushing it into pieces.

"Haku, you ready?" Zabuza, who was wearing his usual attire and a black tank top, asked his young ward.

"Yes." Haku answered, wearing his hunter-nin mask. They were on a boat just under the incomplete bridge.

[--

Naruto, who had a thin trail of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, woke up in his futon back at Tazuna's place. He then remembered what his task was for the day and sat up hastily.

"Gah! Why didn't somebody wake me up?!" He yelled. He sprung into the other room, were Tsunami was sewing Sakura's clothing. "Where is everybody?! Where'd they all go?" He asked her.

"Oh, Naruto! You're sensei wanted to let you rest. You got the day off, or so he told me." She answered him. Naruto growled and ran back into his room, rushing to get dressed.

"I knew it! They ditched me!" Naruto yelled as he zipped up his jacket and pulled on his Hatei-ate. "See ya!" Be bid to Tsunami as he ran out of the door, not noticing that she had all of Sakura's clothing in a pile next to her.

[--

A certain blonde knuckle-head jumped though the trees as fast as he could, trying to catch up with his team before they got to far away or at least arrive before they all took a lunch break. He kept muttering and mumbling to himself about how they ditched him.

"Argh! They could've at least woken me up!" He complained. "And what about Sakura-chan? Tsunami had all of her clothes next to her for sewing or something! Is she running around in just her underwear?" He wondered, picturing his words and trying to stop his upcoming nose-bleed.

Naruto saw a wounded creature sitting in the middle of the forest as he almost sped straight passed it. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be a boar or a pig.

[--

"Hold on! What the heck is this?" Tazuna asked as he looked at his workers, who were all injured and in pain. "What happened? Someone was here! Someone got to them!" He noticed.

'_Could it be?'_ Kakashi asked himself.

[--

"Inari!" Tsunami called to her son. "Inari, could you give me a hand over here? Inari!"

"I'll be right there!" He called back as Gato's two bodyguards, the very ones that Haku beat, stepped up to the front of the house.

They unsheathed their swords and smirked sadistically.

[--

A dense fog covered the bridge in a time so fast it had to be jutsu induced; no question about it. Kakashi looked around the best he could in deep shock.

"This mist…" He whispered. "Sasuke! Sakura! Get ready!" The sensei of team seven ordered. Both Genin took hold of a kunai, knowing exactly what was coming next. "I knew he was still alive. He just couldn't wait for round two." Kakashi stated, using the tiger seal.

"Great…just great. It's _Zabuza_, isn't it?" Sakura snapped quietly.

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kakashi." Zabuza mocked from somewhere in the mist. "I see you still have the Haruno and the Uchiha brats with you, but you appear to be missing that other one, the short one… That one's still trembling. Pitiful." He chuckled, seeing Sasuke's hand shaking.

Water clones of Zabuza suddenly surrounded them, one in front of each shinobi and another in front of Tazuna. Sasuke saw them and smirked, causing the Zabuza in front of him to raise his invisible eyebrow in mild wonder at the facial expression.

"I'm trembling with…excitement." Sasuke stated, the smirk remaining on his dark features.

"Go on, Sasuke." Kakashi prompted. Zabuza growled and lunged at the Uchiha, only to have him dodge and, with almost frightening speed, slice though all of the Zabuza clones, turning them into puddles of water.

''_I can see it.'_ Sasuke stated in his mind.

"Oh, so you could see they were water clones, huh?" Zabuza asked mockingly. "The brat's improving. Looks like you're got more than just the Haruno to deal with, Haku." He added as he and Haku stepped into view.

"So it seems." Haku mused.

Haku's Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors

Naruto carried on jumping though the trees, going as fast as he could while not tiring himself out too much. He squinted as the wind made his eyes water, but never slowed down.

"Gah! I hope I'm not too late." He said to himself.

[--

Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura stood in a line in front of Tazuna as Haku and Zabuza faced them not too far away. Kakashi held his hands inside his pockets, Sasuke griped his kunai and Sakura prepared her hands for any jutsu use she would need. Haku and Zabuza, however, just stood in a perfectly calm manner.

"Well, well." Kakashi spoke to break the silence. "So Sakura and I had it right. It was all an act. An act, with a cute little mask." He taunted.

"Big phoney, ha." Sasuke jeered.

"So, I guess that stuff about you being a tracker ninja, trying to do nothing more than protect his village, was just a bunch of bull to make your act more believable." Tazuna noted with a sneer.

"They look pretty 'chummy' to me. I'd say they've been pulling scams like that one for a long time." Kakashi added.

"Chummy?" Sakura snorted, but no one heard her thankfully. "Tch. It was pretty obvious when he didn't destroy the body." She said louder.

"And hiding behind that mask…who does he think he's fooling?" Kakashi stated, causing Sakura to clear her throat.

"Speak for yourself, Kakashi-sensei." She scoffed, motioning to his own mask while rolling her eyes.

"What about you, Sakura? When are you going to remove _your_ mask of indifference?" Kakashi shot back jokingly.

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about. I _am_ indifferent." She corrected.

"That's it. I'm taking him out." Sasuke promised, going back to the fight before Sakura could carry on about masks. "Who does he think he's fooling anyway? Hiding behind that mask like some sort of clown."

"Sasuke…good luck." Sakura said with a smirk.

'_Wait a second.'_ Kakashi thought. _'Didn't I just say that? Hmm, I get it now! Nice one, Sasuke! Get your score back up and win over Naruto for Sakura's __**love**__!'_

"The boy is impressive. Even though they were just one tenth the strength of the original water cline jutsu, he _did_ destroy them all." Haku noted.

"That move still gave us the first advantage." Zabuza cut in. "Now use it."

"Right." Haku said as he began spinning at an alarming speed towards his and Zabuza's enemy ninja. Sasuke clenched his teeth.

"What's this?" The Uchiha boy asked no one in particular. He smirked and readied his kunai for battle as Haku drew ever closer.

[--

Gato's bodyguards sliced though the wall of Tsunami's home and smirked when they saw her with fear in her eyes.

"So, you're Tazuna's daughter, huh?" The shorter of the two asked. "Too bad. You'll have to come with us. Now."

[--

Inari was washing his hands in the bathroom when he heard crashing, the sound of something break and his mother's scream. He looked at the door in shock and fear.

[--

Tsunami was on the floor, holding her hands in her head as the men continued to break anything they could get their hand on. The men grinned and the taller one dropped another plate on the ground. Inari ran in the room and saw what was going on.

"Okaa-san!" He called.

"NO! Don't come out here!" Tsunami cried franticly. "Run away!"

"Don't move." The taller one warned Inari. "Shall we grab the little one too?" He asked his partner quietly.

"No. Gato asked for just one hostage." He reminded the taller man. Inari froze.

'_H-Ho-Hostage?'_ He stuttered mentally as he shook with fear.

"Alright." The taller one said, taking up his sword. "Then let's waste him!"

Inari gasped and shrank further behind the door frame as the man half drew his sword. He chuckled sadistically as he watched the poor little boy shake in fear, both for his mother's life and his own.

"Wait!" Tsunami cried desperately. The en looked at her. "Please don't hurt my son. I'm begging you; he's just a child! I'll do…anything." She promised. "Just please, don't hurt him."

The men smirked as the taller one sheathed his sword. The shorter of the two looked towards Inari and the taller looked at Tsunami with what could only be described as a disappointed look in his eye. However, only disappointed because he wasn't allowed to spill blood.

"Looks like your mom came though for ya, kid. Lucky." The shorter one said. Inari fell to the floor and began to sob.

"What a waste." The taller one sighed. "I was in the mood to cut, maim or completely destroy something."

"Give it a rest." His partner scolded. "You've already drawn blood at least once today from what I know. Let's just get the woman and go." He took a tight and painful grip on Tsunami's arm and pulled her up from the floor, causing the woman to cry out in pain.

He bound her wrist tightly behind her back. Inari couldn't stop crying behind the wall which separated him from them. The small boy leant on the door frame, loud sobs causing his shoulders to shake.

"I'm sorry, okaa-san. I'm sorry." He choked. "What…could I do?" Inari continued as the men took Tsunami out of the house. "I'm too weak to protect you…I'm scared. I don't wanna die."

[--

"_Listen to yourself! Always whining and complaining like some sort of sorry little victim!" Naruto commented. "You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a coward!" Inari stated to cry heavier than before._

[--

"…_My guess is…he just got tired of crying, and decided to do something about it." The sensei sighed._

"_Oh." Inari whispered._

"_Even though he's young and still learning, he knows what it means to be truly strong…like your father did. I think Naruto knows better than any of us what you are going though. Sakura…my guess would be that her life has been pretty tough too, to turn her into the cold girl she is now. What they told you earlier, not matter how harsh it sounded, was probably something they've told themselves a thousand times."_

[--

"…_I have…very few good memories from my entire life, Inari-chan."_

[--

Inari sniffed and wiped his eyes, going though all these memories and thinking about how everyone was trying their best. Everyone, that is, except him.

"Can…Can I be that strong too?" He asked himself. Inari stood up with pure determination in his eyes.

[--

Outside the house, the two men were leading Tsunami away so she could be held as a hostage. The larger one pulled the woman to a stop and began to chuckle.

"We're gonna treat you just fine." He promised mockingly. "Don't you worry your pretty little head."

"Come on, keep walking." The other ordered as he gave the rope a sharp tug forwards, causing Tsunami to go with it.

"STOP!" A small voice bellowed out from behind them.

"Well, well; if it isn't the little tough guy." The taller one sneered.

"Inari!" Tsunami cried.

"How cute. You've come to save your mommy." He mocked.

"You…better get away…from my Okaa-san!" Inari yelled as he charged towards the two men.

"Inari! NO!" Tsunami called to him, but he didn't stop.

"This kid is a little short on brains, don't ya think?" The taller man jeered.

"Take him down." The short one ordered, both men drawing their swords to attack.

"If you hurt him, I swear I'll-!" Tsunami was cut off when the shorter man hit the back of her neck, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Take a nap." The man who hit her joked as he watched her fall into unconsciousness.

"Inari." She groaned as darkness consumed her vision. Inari just kept charging as two blades swung themselves upon their victim.

[--

Sasuke and Haku were both putting their strength into pushing the other with their weapon of choice. While Haku was using a senbon, Sasuke held a tight grip on his kunai. In his other hand, Sasuke had a second kunai and Haku was performing what looked to be a one-handed seal, but never had Sasuke seen one before now.

'_So…he can keep up with Haku's speed, huh?'_ Zabuza observed.

"Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay…huh?" Kakashi questioned when he observed Sakura closer. It was merely a Kage Bunshin. He shook his head and decided to act as if it was really her. "Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay back until you're needed. Let Sasuke handle this."

"Whatever." 'Sakura' replied with a wink and a small smirk.

Sasuke and Haku both moved at great speed, parrying their weapons again and again until it was obvious that this was going nowhere. Haku noticed this too and decided to use a different tactic.

"We want the bridge builder, not you." He reminded. "If you back down, I wont have to kill you."

"Save it." Sasuke smirked, not loosening his grip on his kunai.

"You're making a mistake. You wont be able to keep up with my speed. I have gained three key advantages."

"Yeah? What are they?" Sasuke asked with interest as they moved again, but still managed to black the other's attack.

"First; we're surrounded by water." He noted, putting more pressure on the senbon. Sasuke copied. "Second; I've managed to get one of your hands blocked. Therefore, you have only one hand to defend yourself."

"That's only two." Sasuke grunted as they spun and parried yet again. He noticed Haku nod and chuckle.

"Fine then, since you want to know. Third; I've got knowledge you can only wish to hold. I know about the life of your team mate _before_ she joined the Konoha academy." Haku told him.

At first, Sasuke wanted to laugh and not believe him. However, when Sakura's form went rigid and her shoulders tensed, the Uchiha boy knew it was true. Now, rather than killing Haku, he would have the 'hunter-nin' tell him about Sakura. It was curiosity or victory in battle. Haku_did_ have something against him after all.

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, trying to ignore the over-whelming urge to drop his kunai and ask about Sakura. "You also have only one free hand to defend yourself." He noticed. Haku laughed and held his hand in a one-handed seal.

"I only need one." He boasted. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and his breathing hitched in his throat.

'_What? Using only __**one**__ hand? Impossible!'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to push on the kunai in his hand. Haku's hand flared though the signs, gather Kakashi's attention too.

'_Hand signs with a single hand? I've never seen that before.'_ Kakashi, not even blinking as he watched the seals being preformed, thought as he tried to figure out the jutsu Haku was using.

"Sensatsu Suishō." Haku said, finishing his seals. Sakura's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth as Haku stamped his foot in the water. It rose up around him and Sasuke.

"Careful, Sasuke." Sakura warned. The water around the two boys split into hundreds of ice needles, sharpened to a point and ready to kill on contact. Kakashi gasped and looked up as Sakura took a step back and preformed her own hand seals. However, she preformed one-handed seals, just like Haku, but did them on both hands.

'_Remember the training. Focus.'_ Sasuke chided himself as he closed his eyes and used one hand to focus his chakra.

[--

_Sasuke was a bit more successful and made it up a full fifteen steps before the bark cracked under his foot and he had to mark the tree before falling back. He landed on his feet and observed the rather impressive height he had travelled._

[--

'_Summon my chakra at once.'_ He opened his eyes and they widened as he saw the needles closing in on him. They moved with lightening speed, but he just closed his eyes again.

[--

Inari's hat flew in the wind as the two men with swords sheathed their weapons and watched Inari's body become nothing more than a log, which fell into three pieces. They looked in shock, not knowing the boy to have the ability to use that technique.

"The substitution jutsu." The shorter man recognised.

"The woman…she's gone." The taller one added as both looked around for any signs of Tsunami or Inari.

"Sorry I'm a little late." A voice neither recognised called out. They looked behind them to see a boy in an orange jumpsuit placing an unconscious Tsunami gently on the ground and hold a semi-conscious Inari over his shoulder carefully.

"Who's that?!" Both men asked in union.

"But, you know, heroes usually show up at the last minuet." Naruto added as Inari opened his eyes and looked at his saviour.

"Naruto, it's you!" He gushed in surprise.

"Who else?" Naruto asked with a grin, his back still facing the men.

"Well, maybe Sakura-nee-sama." Inari muttered. Naruto growled slightly.

"She's a little busy on the bridge at the moment, and I thought that I should save you. I mean, Sakura-chan would _kill_ me if I let anything happen to her favourite Water County kid." Naruto told him with a sigh, just imagining the beating he's get.

"Favourite? Cool! But…thanks for saving me…" Inari ground out, not liking the turn of events at all.

"Inari, you did great." Naruto complimented. "When you charged, they forget about your mom for a minuet. That gave me a chance to use a cool jutsu to get her away from them."

"Naruto! How did you know these samurai guys were coming here?" Inari questioned curiously.

"Uhh…in the forest, I found a boar that had been attacked. And the trees were all cut up too, like someone had been practicing with a sword or something. The cuts lead back towards the house and so I followed them here to make sure you were okay." The blonde informed him.

"That was…really smart." Inari said non-believingly.

"Yeah! Sakura-chan taught me to look out more for my surroundings." He admitted, blushing. Inari sighed and muttered something very close to 'I should have known' under his breath.

"Blah, blah." The tall samurai grunted. "It's just one of those puny ninja brats Tazuna hired." He added nonchalantly.

"Get him!" His partner in crime ordered as they unsheathed their swords and charged.

"They're coming!" Inari cried in fear. Naruto just smiled at him. He threw two shuriken in their direction, but the men easily knocked them away with their swords.

"Try something else." One of the men grunted as they carried on running.

"I did." Naruto stated with a grin.

"I was piece of him!" The other man yelled in anger, not noticing the two Narutos behind him and his partner. The clones kicked the two men in the backs of their heads and disappeared at the men were knocked unconscious.

"How…You did it!" Inari cried in shock. Naruto laughed as if it was all a game and he had just achieved a high score.

"Yeah! Dattebayo!" He yelled, punching his fist in the air. Inari looked stunned before he laughed.

"That was so excellent." The younger boy praised. "Like a real ninja." He added with a grin to rival Naruto's own.

"You twerp." Naruto laughed. "I _am_ a real ninja. That's what I've been trying to tell you all along!" He sighed as they both laughed together, long and hard.

[--

'_Summon my chakra at once.'_ He opened his eyes and they widened as he saw the needles closing in on him. They moved with lightening speed, but he closed his eyes again. _'And direct it to my feet!'_

The needles landed and Haku stumbled back at the force of the attack hitting. When he looked to were Sasuke was, nothing was there except a swirl of water where the needles had melted before impact.

"He vanished." Haku noticed with a small gasp. Looking up, he saw Sasuke in the air with a kunai poised for attack. He threw three shuriken at Haku, who jumped back to avoid them all. However, just as Haku landed, Sasuke appeared behind him.

"You're not as fast as you think." He told the mist-nin with a mocking smirk. "From this point on, you'll be the one defending against my attacks." Sasuke warned, holding his kunai to Haku's neck. Sakura dropped her hands from the seals and sighed, shaking her head at Sasuke's unpredictability.

Haku and Sasuke whipped away from each other and held their respective weapons of choice ready to kill. Sasuke was the first to move as he swung his fist at Haku's face. Haku blocked with his forearm, but couldn't stop the Uchiha as he flicked his kunai from his hand. The mist ninja was forced to duck down to dodge the weapon, but Sasuke predicted this and was quick to kick him in the face and send him back towards Zabuza.

'_It is simple not possible.'_ Zabuza thought in shock. _'That boy cannot be faster than Haku!'_

"Thought you were quicker, huh?" Sasuke scolded mockingly. "Now, what else are you wrong about?"

"You made a big mistake insulting these Genin and calling them brats. You see, that's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude." Kakashi joked, making fun of Zabuza and Haku.

"And Kami, does that boy have a _lot_ of attitude." Sakura added, crossing her arms and smirking at Sasuke, who just took it as a compliment and smirked back.

'_**CHA! Sasu-kun has an attitude the size of Fire Country!'**_ Inner grinned, putting her hands on her hips.

"He is one of the best young fighters of the hidden leaf. Sakura here is our sharpest mind and one heck of a fighter." Kakashi continued. "And last, but not least, Naruto is our number-one, hyperactive knuckle-head ninja."

[--

"A-A-ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed.

"They say when you sneeze it's because someone is talking about you somewhere." Inari told him. The two samurai were tied up far behind them.

"Nah! You don't actually believe that, do you?" Naruto asked. Inari just shrugged. "Hey, sorry about yesterday."

"Huh?" The younger boy asked in confusion.

"Calling you a coward was pretty mean, I guess." He explained. "Anyway, it's not true, you know." He ruffled Inari's hair. "You are really brave." The blonde looked down when he heard Inari start to cry.

"Darn it!" The boy yelled. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore!" He scolded himself. You will just make fun of me again and c-call me a b-ba-baby." Inari choked. "But I can't stop!"

"What're ya talkin' about?" Naruto asked, turning away. "You're happy, is all. What's wrong with that? When you're happy, it's okay to cry. Really, it is. I cried at home one night when Sakura-chan and I started hanging out, because I was so happy she accepted me."

"Naruto…" Inari cried.

"Okay. I can leave you in charge of things now, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Inari promised, drying his tears.

"Good. Then _I'm_ going over to the bridge." He claimed. "It's not easy being a hero." Naruto said as he ran towards the bridge. "It's actually really tough, Dattebayo!"

"Dattebayo!" Inari copied, using Naruto's typical 'fist in air' pose.

[--

The air on the bridge was this with mist and tense with the anticipation of a surprise attack. Sasuke remained standing in front as Sakura, Kakashi and Tazuna let him fight his won battle. Haku was sat on the ground beside Zabuza, who started to chuckle darkly.

"Haku, if we keep going like this, we'll be the victims instead of them." He pronounced to his underling. "Get on with it!"

"Right." The boy said. Haku got up and faced Sasuke again as a vibrant blue chakra began emitting from his body.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked cautiously. Sakura observed his movements, but she just didn't recognise the jutsu Haku was using.

"I'm sorry it's come to this." Haku apologised in a trance-like way.

"I-I'm…so cold. The air…it's the air." Sasuke breathed. Haku raised both hands and put them together in a tiger hand sign, but with his index fingers crossed under his middle fingers.

The water around Sasuke and Haku began to rise and freeze solid in rectangular shapes. This happened again and again until both of them were completely surrounded with what looked to be smooth, clean mirrors, only about as thick as the hilt of a kunai, made of ice. They looked harmless, but everyone present knew not to judge by appearance alone.

"Secret jutsu; crystal ice mirrors!" Haku yelled. The mirrors glowed and Haku dropped his hands.

"What is that? How does it work?" Kakashi asked, stepping forwards slightly to get a better look. Sakura frowned and clenched her teeth.

'_I've heard of this jutsu before, but never actually seen it! If what I know is right, then Sasuke is in for a heap of trouble.'_ Sakura noted to herself.

'_**So why don't we go in and save him?'**_ Inner asked, pulling out a kunai and getting ready to break down into the emotions. FYI, inner is all the emotions put into one soul to Sakura doesn't get over-loaded with chatter and such between the emotions.

'_Because…I don't even think that __**I**__ can handle the mirrors.'_ She stated in worry for her team mate as she took a kunai in hand, just in case she absolutely needed to help him.

Haku stepped back and _melted_ into one of the mirrors. It then reflected his body as if he were standing in front of it. Everyone looked in shock as all of the mirrors then stopped glowing and adopted the reflection of Haku inside them.

'_The mirrors…'_ Sasuke began, not knowing what to do. _'But…how?'_

Kakashi, seeing this as more of a threat than he had previously assumed, began to run towards the mirrors. He was stopped, however, when Zabuza jumped in front of him, arms spread wide. Kakashi glared at the one who would stop him from saving his student.

"If you enter this fight, then you fight _me_." Zabuza grunted. "Your boy has no chance against that jutsu. Even Haruno looks a little wary now that it's been called upon. Sorry, but the boy is finished."

Inside the mirror dome, Sasuke looked around at every Haku reflection to watch for movement. He couldn't hear what was going on, but really wished Sakura or even _Naruto_ was in here with him. He was cold, alone and had no idea how this jutsu worked.

"Now," Haku began slowly, "we'll begin. And I shall show you what _speed_ really means." He warned as all of the reflections took senbon in their hands. The needles were thrown one by one at him and he couldn't dodge.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi called from outside the dome. Sasuke's body was being pierced with many needles, all being thrown as such a speed that not even Kakashi could keep up with where they were all coming from. His kunai was knocked from his hand.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called, moving to step forwards. Only when Zabuza looked behind her and she heard Tazuna gasp did she realise that with Sasuke fight, or getting killed by, Haku, Kakashi being stopped by Zabuza and with no Naruto in sight, she was the only thing stopping Tazuna from reaching his end.

Sasuke crouched and covered his head with his hands as he cried out in pain. More and more senbon pierced his flesh, coming and going so fast that not even his won blood could keep up with seeping from the deep, possibly poisoned, cuts.

"If you try to help him, I'll kill the bridge builder and even the Haruno girl in a heart beat. All I really need is her eyes anyway." Zabuza warned.

"I'm sorry, Tazuna-san, but I can't stay here and just watch Sasuke get killed." Sakura said to her client.

"I understand." He replied. "You go now."

Sakura stepped forwards, took the kunai Sasuke had been forced to release and threw it at the ice mirrors. Everyone, even Sasuke, watched the kunai move with exact speed and precise aim. It was, however, stopped short of its target as Haku reached out of his mirror and took a hold of it. The barrage on Sasuke stopped, but Sakura didn't.

She ran forwards and in the direction of the ice mirrors, not a single sign of hesitation in her movements. Haku's head snapped up and he looked at the girl, who stopped and smirked at him. He tilted his head, wondering as to why she stopped and smirked.

"I make a great distraction, no?" She asked with a widening smirk as something blasted passed Haku and hit him on the side of the head. Again the thing sped passed and caused Haku's head to snap to the other side from the force. It happened again and his whole body was pulled from inside the mirror he had situated himself in. he dropped the kunai and fell, face first, to the ground. As Haku got up, an explosion made everyone turn their attention to the one who had just caused the ice-jutsu user to fall.

'_What a fool. He is such a show off.'_ Sasuke thought o himself as blood trickled from all of his wounds. He caught Sakura's eye and a brief smile flitted across her face, but it was gone so fast that Sasuke almost believed it to have been his imagination.

"Number one, hyperactive, knuckle-head ninja." Haku recognised as he raised form the ground with a slash across his mask. The smoke cleared to reveal said ninja, striking a pose and grinning slightly as everyone expected him to be.

"Uzumaki Naruto…is here!" Naruto grinned. "Yeah! Dattebayo!"


	9. Memories and Death

A/N: Okay! Here;s the next chapter. First off, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers and tell you the votes. You may vote on this chapter, but I think NaruSaku is a definat. Still, you can do votes like Inner!SakuraXKyuubi!Naruto if you like.

NaruSaku - 42 (It wins)

ItaSaku - 12 (he'll come in later, but no major ItaSaku in this story)

ShikaIno - Sorry to the one person who voted it, but I'm not doing ShikaIno. It'll be ShikaTema and InoCho

NaruHina - Once again, sorry. You saw how many NaruSaku votes I got. I'll probably put her with Shino, Kiba or keep her single.

SakuCentric - Okay, you lucky people. Since I got 6 votes (woot?) I'll put in hints of this, but it'll be NaruSaku in the long run.

No shipping - 1 (I think it's safe to say I'm gonna be putting shipping in this story :D)

Inner!SakuraXKyuubi!Naruto - 1 (might happen anyway, but depends how me, Inner-chan and Kyuu-chan feel. You could vote KyuuInnerShukaku if you want hehe)

SakuNeji - 1 (It'll appear a few times, but this story is NaruSaku)

KyuuHina - 1 (Nope, sorry)

KyuuSaku - 1 (Err, he's mroe interested in Inner!sakura than Outer!Sakura)

NaruOc - 1 (Nah. Maybe to get Saku jealous)

NaruSakuSasu - 1 (It happens a lot, but she chooses Naruto in the end...maybe)

SasuSaku - 1 (Hmm, maybe one scene for this SasuSaku fan)

GaaHina - 1 (Bias, I know, but I'm writing this and I'm not using this couple. I don't hate it, but I just don't want it in my story. No offense to any GaaHina fans)

Chapter Nine

The Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja Joins the Fight!

Everyone looked at Naruto as he stood grinning at his feat of breaking Haku from the ice mirrors. Sasuke was wobbly and barely able to kneel from the loss of blood, but even he looked towards the late-to-arrive Hokage-wanna-be. Sakura's clone took a few steps back, going behind Tazuna, and took a deep breath, trying to locate her creator to see if she was coming back any time soon. So far, no luck.

"Ha! Now that I'm here, everything will be all right." Naruto boasted with a smug grin. Tazuna gasped and Sakura remained blank as Kakashi kept his eyes trained on Zabuza just in case.

"Baka." Sakura muttered with no emotion in her voice.

"You know how in stories the hero always shows up at the last minuet and then kicks bad-guy butt? Well that's what I'm gonna do right now, Dattebayo!" He stated, flashing a 'thumbs-up'. Sakura would have rolled her eyes, but no one would see it and there would be a split second in which time someone could discover and dispel her so the gesture would have been stupid to do.

"Uh, this brat again." Zabuza complained as he looked around at Naruto, but still not moving his body enough to give Kakashi access to his male students. Kakashi, on the other hand, was mentally hitting Naruto over and over again for being such a baka.

'_Shut up, Naruto.'_ Sasuke groaned in his mind as he assumed a fighting position. His face was dead-panned as Naruto ranted. He looked over to see a reaction from the others, but saw through Sakura's clone. Sasuke sighed and knew immediately that she wasn't there with them, but had no idea where she was.

'_Ugh! What an idiot. If he'd have stayed hidden, he could have been so much more effective.'_ Kakashi scolded mentally. If he had his book and wasn't trying to keep a criminal from killing the bridge builder, he would have taken out his favourite book and proceeded in hitting himself in the head with it.

'_That boy…'_ Haku thought, looking at Naruto though the slits in the mask were his eyes were.

[--

"_It's calm and I really didn't think anyone would be sleeping out here in the woods." He ended. Naruto grinned at the boy._

"_I'm training." He stated simply._

"_Hm?" Haku asked as he raised his delicate eyebrow. "So, are you a ninja then?" He questioned as if he didn't know. "I did notice that headband you're wearing, or are you just making a fashion statement?"_

"_You noticed that?" Naruto asked with another blush. "All right! Only super cool ninja can wear these!" He boasted._

"_Oh really? I see." Haku stated, pretending to be interested. "That's very impressive. But…does that mean that you're training for something dangerous?"_

"_I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger! Dattebayo!" The blonde told him proudly._

[--

Haku remained watching Naruto, standing in front of the mirror he was pulled out of not even five minuets prior. His eyes narrowed, knowing that it wasn't going to be as easy as before. Naruto chuckled slightly and took in a breath to begin talking again.

"All right! You're history!" He stated, preparing his signature move. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto stated.

Before he even got the chance to split into one clone, Zabuza hurled four perfectly aimed, deadly fast shuriken at him. Kakashi's eyes widened when he realised that no one could help him. Haku reached into his sleeve, drew four senbon and threw them at the shuriken, causing all eight weapons to clatter uselessly to the ground.

"Ah…" Naruto breathed, realising how close he had been to death. Zabuza let his eyes narrow at his underling, who remained still as if nothing happened. Sasuke and the others just looked at the weapons in stunned motionlessness.

"Their weapons cancelled each other out, amazing. Now that's what I'd call lucky, I think." Tazuna gushed as Sakura stared at him with one fine eyebrow raised.

"You're an easily amused little man, aren't you?" She asked blankly.

"Speak for yourself, shrimp." The bridge builder muttered, taking no heed of Sakura's teasing lacking its usual undertone.

"This is a battle, not a talent show. Don't let your opponent see you jutsu in the future!" Kakashi reprimanded the boy. "A shinobi's art is deception; always keep the enemy guessing. You must push your opponent's attention to something else, and then use a jutsu to surprise them. You just made yourself a living target and if you died here, Sakura would bring you back if only to kill you again for being so stupid!"

"AHHHH! No! I'm sorry! I'm just trying to rescue everybody! Don't hurt me after I'm gone, Sakura-chan! I just wanted to help!" Naruto told his team, freaking about almost being shredded into Naruto-flavoured ramen noodles.

"But…there's another mystery here." Kakashi muttered.

'_Him. Why did he do that?'_ Sasuke thought from the ground in the ice dome as he looked at Haku.

"Haku! What're you doing?!" Zabuza asked the rebellious young teen.

"Zabuza…this boy…let me fight him my own way. Please." Haku requested of his master.

"Bring it on." Naruto dared. Haku positioned his feet for attack as Naruto sunk into his own—flawed—stance. Everyone was silent as the two stared at each other.

"Hm. So you want me to leave this to you?" Zabuza confirmed. "Is that it, Haku? As usual, you're too soft." He scoffed.

"Forgive me." Haku said with his head bowed.

'_Soft?'_ Sasuke wondered as he got himself on one knee and looked at his injuries. _'He right. Look at these wounds. He cut me up with his needles, yet he didn't hit a single vital spot. Why? Is he just trying to humiliate me in front of Sakura?! Well, in front of that clone anyway.'_

"I'm warning you; one way or another I'm going to take off that mask and rip you apart!" Naruto warned, pointed a finger at Haku.

'_It's impossible. Naruto can't match this kid. Sakura would be able to fight him.'_ Kakashi thought, looking at his fake pupil. _'But she's not even __**here**__ at the moment! Perfect time to ditch us and wander off Sakura! You really have a knack for disappearing at the worst of times. I've got to-'_

"Don't even think about it." Zabuza said, cutting off Kakashi's thoughts and stepping in the way. "You know the score Kakashi. If you go after Haku, I go after the bridge builder, and don't think I'm stupid enough to know that that isn't the real Haruno girl."

'_Argh! He's got me. I can't protect Tazuna and help Naruto and Sasuke at the same time! Sakura, where are you?!' _Kakashi yelled mentally.

[--

"You do not request to go to the aid of your team when you know that they are in danger and your clone can't do anything to help." A man with brown eyes mused as he tapped his foot on the ground, growing impatient of waiting for the other man to show.

"They do not need me." Sakura replied, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her.

"The blonde seems to be a pathetic excuse for a ninja. I don't understand why you haven't just taken him out already." He said with grit teeth as he still couldn't feel the other man's chakra anywhere near him and Sakura.

"I have my reasons." She waved off.

"Them being?" He prompted.

"None of your business." Sakura said calmly. "Nervous?" She asked, seeing the foot tapping. He glared at her and sighed, stopping the tapping but crossing his arms so that he could tap his fingers on his arm.

"I'm merely impatient and you know it." He reminded her. She smirked and shrugged slightly.

"Patience is a virtue." She told him.

"Patience is only the ability to count down before you blast off. As a ninja, I indulge my enemies with the surprise of a sudden temper." He retorted quickly.

"But patience is the companion of wisdom, though." She replied just as fast.

"I suppose you could be right, but patience has its limits. Take it too far, and its nothing but cowardice." He scoffed.

"Touché." Sakura smirked.

"I know. So how are you getting on?" He asked her, changing the subject before she could bring up more cracks about his impatience.

"So-so. I have gained the trust of most people now that I have completed missions for the leaf, but many are still wary of me. Especially the ones who matter, like the Hokage and the council." She huffed.

"Well, you can't win them all." He shrugged.

"I guess not, but that would make my job easier." Sakura pointed out.

"Who ever said that it was going to be easy?" The man chuckled.

"No one, but the missions aren't usually this hard." She muttered.

"You've been getting it easy since you left Yukigakure." He told her. "I think that it's about time you got the harder missions."

"It's not that they're difficult. They just take too long. I mean, I been here for two years already and _only just_ graduated the academy. Leaf ninja are weak." Sakura sighed. "I just wish they'd take less time."

"Impatient?" The man mocked.

"I am and you know it." She replied with a smirk.

"He's close." He stated randomly, feeling no need to clarify since Sakura knew who he was talking about.

"I suppose I should get going before the baka gets here and asks why I'm wearing orange, ne?" She asked rhetorically with a side-ways tilt of her head.

"Sayonara, Haruno-san." The man bid with a quick nod and a lasting smirk.

"Sayonara." Sakura sighed and took off into the trees, planning an entrance that would maim or kill once she got to the bridge.

'_At least he and the baka don't feel the need to either attack me or insult me as we converse, like all of the others do.'_ Sakura sighed to her inner.

'_**Yeah. Thank Kami-sama.'**_ Inner agreed.

[--

"Relax, Kakashi. Sit back and enjoy the show." Zabuza mocked as he broke Kakashi from his thoughts yet again. "Let's see how they do. One on one."

Naruto and Haku were still facing each other, looking for a point where an attack wouldn't be expected, but even Naruto wasn't stupid enough to leave one, let alone Haku. The latter narrowed his eyes as Naruto opened his mouth to speak again.

"That mask…and your bogus story." He began. "You were with Zabuza all along!" The blonde accused obviously. "You think you could get away with a stunt like that?"

"I'm sorry." Haku apologised with his head turned down in shame.

"Huh?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"But as your sensei said; deceiving the opponent, catching them off guard,_that_ is the art of the shinobi." Haku told him. "Please don't take it personally."

'_And while you're jabbering, I'll catch __**you**__ off guard!'_ Sasuke thought as he hurled a kunai at Haku, who didn't move anything other than his head, which he shifted fast and only back a little to dodge the kunai easily. The Uchiha could only gape at the feat, Naruto doing the same.

'_Sasuke?'_ He asked in his head, looking at his team mate though the gaps in the ice dome.

"I haven't forgotten about you." Haku said in an almost sinister tone, not looking at Sasuke as he said it. "Not for an instant."

'_So that's were Sasuke is. He's trapped.'_ Naruto noticed.

"Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, while others do not. So be it. Let us finish our battle then. To the death." Haku said as he walked in Sasuke's direction. Naruto stared in question.

"Hey! Where're you going?!" Naruto yelled, not wanting Haku to harm his team mate any more.

"It's alright, Naruto. We'll have our fight next." Haku promised as he melted into one of the ice mirrors.

'_Grrrr! What __**is**__ he?!'_ Naruto asked himself.

'_Here he comes.'_ Sasuke thought as he narrowed his eyes and tensed his body to move quickly. He looked around and noticed that only one mirror showed Haku's reflection this time. _'The real one is over there.'_ He noted as he reached for his kunai pouch.

"I'm behind you." Haku chimed, causing Sasuke to freeze and snap his head up to look where Haku had been previously and the mirror was blank now. The one behind him, however, depicted Haku with three senbon poised for launch.

'_He tricked me and transported himself…in a mere instant! How?'_ Sasuke wondered in slight fear of his opponent. The mirrors all adopted an image of Haku with his senbon and Sasuke was surrounded once again. His eyes widened as all of the senbon shot out and tore into his skin. He fell back with the force and landed hard on the ground.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called in worry as Sasuke's wounds bled heavily. Even Kakashi froze as Zabuza seemed amused.

'_What_**is**_ that?! Sasuke's getting all ripped up and I can't even tell where the attacks are coming from! How's he doing that?'_ Naruto wondered in awe.

[--

"Time for phase one. Kai!" Sakura called as she placed her hands in the symbol for monkey. She felt a tug as her clone returned to her and her chakra was no longer lessened for the clone to have some.

[--

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out. "Sasuke need's hel-" He cut himself off when he saw Sakura fading before disappearing completely. A clone, he realised once it was too late. Naruto grumbled under his breath at Sakura's bad-timing and tried to think of a way to help Sasuke on his own or at least stall the attack.

'_What kind of jutsu is this?'_ Sasuke wondered. _'Maybe he had clones hiding in the mirrors. All throwing needles at the same time. No, they're too fast for that. I can't even see where they're coming from. And if it were just a clone jutsu…he wouldn't need the ice mirrors. Those mirrors are defiantly the key to his attacks. But what's my next move?'_

"Sasuke, Naruto, think! Attack from the outside at the same time as you attack from the inside." Kakashi told them.

[--

"Phase two commence. Kanjoo jiyuu irobunretsu!" Sakura called as she split into thirteen girls with different coloured eyes.

[--

'_I've got it!'_ Naruto stated proudly as he clenched his fists.

'_Yes. It's all about position! And Naruto and I are in the __**perfect**__ position to attack!'_ Sasuke realised. _'If I attack him from here, and Naruto attacks him from the outside…we can do it.'_

"Hey, I snuck in here to save you." Naruto whispered to Sasuke as he appeared next to him. Sasuke jumped back in shock as he looked at Naruto with an expression that clearly said; WHAT THE HELL?! "Pretty cool move, huh Sasuke?"

"GRRRRRAAAAWW!" Sasuke roared at Naruto's idiocy.

"Naruto…you're supposed to sneak up on your enemy, not your ally." His sensei told him from outside the dome.

"Gah! You are a complete loser!" Sasuke yelled at him. "You're a shinobi; think carefully before you move!"

"Argh! What is you're problem?! You should thank me for coming in here to help you!" Naruto shouted back. Sasuke took a breath and tried to calm down.

"Naruto…if we're both inside here…grr…FORGET IT!" Sasuke yelled, giving up on his hopeless team mate. "I've had it with your mistakes."

"AND I'VE HAD IT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto screamed in return.

'_I thought he wanted to be Hokage. Naruto's just building a solid reputation as the most clueless ninja in history.'_ Kakashi thought with a sweat drop.

"That's it! I'm going to destroy these mirrors right now!" Sasuke yelled as he preformed the hand seals.

[--

"Oh yeah!" Red-eyed Sakura cheered.

"Phase three!" They all said in union.

[--

"Hey what attack are you using?!" Naruto asked Sasuke.

"These mirrors are made of ice. So how do you destroy ice?" Sasuke replied with a question of his own. "Figure it out! Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"

[--

"Koorikobushi!" The Sakuras yelled as ice covered their fisted hands, spreading to just above their elbows.

[--

A stream of fire burst from Sasuke's mouth as the emotions slammed their ice-covered fists on the mirrors from outside. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked from the Sakura closest to him, the one with purple eyes, to Sasuke. One mirror chipped on the outside, but Sasuke was doing no damage.

Haku heard a small crack under the mirror Pride was hiding and he gasped before appearing outwards and streaming senbon at the emotions to make them stop. His attack worked as all of the Sakuras burst into butterflies and landed as one body. Sakura opened her green eyes and clenched her teeth as the old shuriken wound in her hip from a few days ago reopened.

Her jutsu cancelled itself and the ice around her arms melted and chipped away until all that was left was a bit of water on either side of her, and a small bit of her chakra gone to prove that the jutsu was cast. Sakura growled as she watched Haku continue to mess with Naruto and Sasuke as he planned his attack from the safety of his mirrors.

She felt a mild poison in her blood and sent her chakra to sort it, but it was making her drowsy. If her chakra wasn't able to cancel out the poison like it usually did…well, she didn't want to think about it.

[--

Back inside the dome, Haku and reappeared in the mirrors inside as Sasuke's attack subsided and he looked at his work. A few chips and cracks, but nothing to stop the mirrors from working. His eyes widened in shock.

'_Fire melts ice. It's common knowledge. But…how did this not work?'_ He asked himself.

"That didn't do anything at all! The only thing that happened was that Sakura-chan got hurt and that's not good, teme!" Naruto yelled, pointed to Sakura as she wrapped bandages around her stomach. It was convenient that her clothing showed her stomach and it made it easier to rewrap the old wound.

"You'll need much more heat than that to melt this ice." Haku told him, but it was a little late for that. Sasuke clenched his teeth and the mirrors glowed white as Haku, as well as all of the reflections, raised their senbon to throw them.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were thrown back, blood dripping from the senbon wounds as they landed. Sakura froze when she heard their pain-filled screams. Her breath hitched in her throat and her knees trembled.

"Where is he?! Where's the senbon attack coming at us from?! Are they clones?" Naruto asked franticly. He got up and faced Sasuke. "We've got to find the real one. Which one is it?"

"Look into every mirror as hard as you like." All the Hakus told them together, forming an echo. "You'll never learn the secret."

"Oh yeah?! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled, performing the hand sign for his jutsu.

"NO DON'T!" Sasuke warned him, but it was too late. Hundreds of Narutos leapt up and took one mirror each with their fists ready for fighting.

"You got one hundred mirrors? Then a hundred of me will smash them all, Dattebayo! I'll find where you really are and get you back for what you did to Sakura-chan!" Naruto promised.

Haku slid out of one of the mirrors, near a clone, and jumped too fast for Naruto or Sasuke to see. He exited and re-entered the mirrors at great speed, passing the clones as he went. Every time he passed, Naruto got cut by a senbon. The clones dispersed in clouds of smoke, leaving the original alone with Sasuke and the enemy. Naruto fell to the floor with a cry, panting and bleeding from the attack he just had to endure.

"These mirrors only _reflect_ my image." Haku told them. "They allow me to transport myself at light-speed. Though my eyes, you appear to be moving in slow motion." He concluded.

[--

Outside the mirrors, Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Gah! I knew it! It's a bloodline trait…a kekkei genkai." Kakashi noticed as Zabuza began chuckling.

"A what?" Tazuna asked.

"A kekkei genkai, like my Sharingan and Sakura's Kanjoo jiyuu. You can't learn it. It needs to be in your blood, your genetic code. Only someone with the same blood, or from the same clan, can use the same kekkei genkai. There's no way to destroy it." Kakashi told him.

[--

"I couldn't break though." Naruto began, letting a shadow fall over his eyes as Sasuke looked at him. "So what? He's not gonna stop me. I'm not giving up and I'm not gonna lose here. I have a dream and no one's gonna take it away from me. I'll be respected by my village…and I'll protect Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan with my life. That's my dream. To be the greatest Hokage and protect my greatest friends!"

"Dreams." Haku echoed in a quiet voice.

[--

_Haku was sitting on a stone bridge alone, still in the lightly falling snow but feeling no cold. Feet were herd coming in his direction and a shadow loomed over the younger child. He looked up to see a man with sharp eyes, spiked hair and a Jounin uniform on. The most surprising this was that this man was actually looking at him._

_Not passed him._

_Not though him._

_At him._

_The man chuckled as he remained with his eyes trained on Haku._

"_Pathetic little urchin." He said. Haku didn't react as the man walked closer to him and kneeled down. "No one wants you, huh? Before winter ends, you'll die with nothing. Not even a dream." The man told him. Haku smiled and took him completely off guard._

"_You're eyes are just like mine, mister. We're both the same." Haku replied with an innocent smile. The man said nothing and just stared at him._

[--

"It was not my desire to be a shinobi. It's painful." Haku told them with a small crack of a choked sob in his voice.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"I can tell that all of you have suffered from being shinobi too. An Uchiha alone, a boy hated and a Haruno who…well, got driven to the edge." Haku looked over at Sakura.

"Driven to the edge? What're you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"It's her business to tell you, not mine." Haku said.

"Everyone says that, but you know about Sakura-chan!" Naruto accused.

"That I do. I find Harunos fascinating and she's the one who is the most amazing of all for what she did." He told them.

"What she did?" Sasuke echoed. He looked out of the dome at Sakura, who heard him and was looking away, biting her lip.

"I don't want to kill you. But, if you advance, I'll have no choice. That will be when I kill the kindness in my own heart, and fully embrace the shinobi way. There will be no mercy." Haku continued. _"_No turning back."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, getting the real fight he wanted.

"This Bridge will be the battle field were our dreams collide. Now I must fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me. I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him, and I face death for him, so that his dream may become reality. _That_ is my dream. And for the sake of that dream, I shall do as I must and take your lives!"

Naruto grinned as Sasuke smirked.

Game on.

Zero Visibility: The Sharingan Shatters

"Naruto, Sasuke! Come on!" Sakura prompted from the side before holding her hip as it began to throb when the pain of the poison rushed though it.

"Don't, Sakura." Kakashi warned her.

"Huh?" She asked as she turned to look at him.

"Even if they some how destroy the ice mirrors, they could never defeat that ninja. They just don't have the power. You can't even help them because you made a stupid mistake and reopened your wound." Kakashi scolded.

"Oh yeah?" She smirked, letting a bit of chakra flow to her hand and she placed it over her wound. In two seconds, she moved her hand and cut off the bandages, revealing nothing more than a small scar in the place of the gash.

"But…how? You never learned medical jutsu in the academy." Kakashi asked suspiciously.

"I got the basics from my old village before I entered Konoha. I can heal, but I'm no medic." Sakura shrugged.

[--

"_Do you really want to kill, Sakura-chan?" A boy with white hair asked his younger sister as he wiped someone's blood off of her cheek. She had just returned from a mission out of the village to kill three rogue ninjas. That kind of mission and she was only six._

"_No. But it's all I know how to do. I can't even play properly with Taiyoo and Tsuki because I always end up losing control and one of the elders has to bring me back to the compound." Sakura answered. "But, that's what I'm supposed to do. Otou-san says I'm a weapon, right Juhi-nii-san?"_

"_Tell you what; I'll teach you a healing technique! You could be a healer, like me, instead of a killer. I learned a really easy one today. Here's how you do it…"_

[--

"It doesn't matter. They'll fail and so you shouldn't push them. It'll only make them feel worse later." Kakashi told her.

"How can you be so sure?" Sakura demanded. Zabuza chuckled.

"They have the desire to win, but they don't have the instinct to kill like you and I do. That boy is a whole other breed. He lives for the pain of others. He thrives on it." He told her.

"He's not another breed, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura muttered. _'He's just doing it to…to help his special person. Just like I…I did what I did to help Tsuki, Taiyoo and Juhi-nii-san.'_ She added to herself.

"Exactly, Kakashi. Your village has become complacent. Trainees never learn the most important lesson of all, unlike Haruno was taught in her village of Yukigakure." Zabuza stated.

[--

"Yukigakure?" Sasuke and Naruto asked together.

[--

"That's right. Maybe you should look it up some time. Unlike Konoha, the ninja in Yukigakure not only begin training from birth, but they learn the most important lesson a ninja could ever learn. To kill the feelings in their own hearts. To crush an opponent mercilessly. To destroy with no emotion or regret." The mist-nin said.

'_I could make a break for it, to save Naruto and Sasuke.'_ Kakashi thought to himself. _'But then I would be abandoning Sakura to fight Zabuza in her weakened state. I could make shadow clone…but he would match them with water clones. So…I have no choice.'_ He reached up to his Hatei-ate.

"Heh. Sharingan. You're no fun, Kakashi. Using the same old trick over and over again. I'll bet that Haruno never repeats her jutsu on the same enemy. In fact, when have you ever seen her use the complete same battle tactic more than once?" Zabuza asked. Kakashi was silent, so he reached into his pocket and ran at the silver-haired man. Kakashi was stunned for a moment, but reacted quickly enough to raise his hand to block the kunai, which was aiming for his eye. The weapon went into his hand and blood dripped to the floor.

"If it's just an old trick, why did you need to stop me?" Kakashi mocked him, ignoring the pain in his hand. Zabuza just chuckled.

"Let your opponent see your jutsu too many times and he'll use it against you." Zabuza said, sounding amused.

"Then count yourself lucky that you're the only man alive who's seen my Sharingan twice." Kakashi told him. "Shows over. There won't be a third time." He said. Zabuza just chuckled again.

"Even if you did defeat me, you'd have no chance against Haku." He informed them. "The only one here who wouldn't die by Haku's hand in the end is Haruno, but that's only because Haku refuses to harm girls too badly or kill them."

'_Is that possible? That boy in the mask could take out all of them?'_ Sakura asked herself, looking towards the mirrors. _'No way. Naruto alone is strong enough to beat anyone…I know he is…'_

'_**Or maybe you just like to think he is because of how alike he and Tsuki are. You knew Tsuki was strong, so if Naruto wasn't it would be like him dirtying Tsuki's name.'**_Inner stated.

'_Why would I care? Tsuki was just an old team mate.'_ Sakura replied.

'_**You care because he and Taiyoo were like your family, only better than your dad. In fact, you used to say that you would replace your dad with them if you could.'**_Inner remembered.

'…_so?'_

"When I found him, he was just a street kid. But I trained him in the most advanced ninja techniques.

_Zabuza watched from a tree as a younger Haku threw senbon at quick speeds into the brain, neck and heart of all of the wooden training dummies set out in front of him._

"I taught him everything I know." Zabuza continued.

_Haku jumped to avoid a kunai heading right towards him, thrown from the hand of none other than his trainer, Zabuza. He switched trees to avoid the danger and parried the next attack as Zabuza tried to hit him from above._

"Plus, he had special abilities."

_Haku gathered his chakra and made a hand seal in the form of tiger with both hands. He and Zabuza watched as his jutsu gathered ice mirrors, slowly but surely._

"But he refined on his own. The boy developed quickly. Soon he could destroy powerful enemies while he was outnumbered and in total darkness, because it just didn't matter. He cared nothing for his own life or the lives of others. He became a unique fighting machine with power surpassing even mine. I've created a tool that can destroy anything that stands in my way, unlike the useless boys who follow you around."

"What about the 'never harming girls' part, then? That's not a statement used to describe a perfect weapon." Kakashi stated.

"Of course, every weapon his it's set backs. Haku refused to kill women, no matter who they were, because he kept saying he was trying to find someone." Zabuza shrugged. "Easily overcome when he discovers who the woman is, since it's never the girl he's looking for."

[--

Inside the dome, Sasuke and Naruto were no longer listening to Zabuza, but instead promising Haku defeat. Whether this promise was verbal—meaning Naruto—or thought—Sasuke—it was a promise both intended to keep until it was carried out.

"I didn't get to him. Then I'll try it again. As many times as it takes. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he became more clones again, trying his best to beat Haku.

"Naruto! Don't!" Sasuke warned him again, but it was too late. Naruto and all his clones had leapt up to try the same attack again.

Once again, the Naruto clones were attacked along with the real thing as Haku shifted at an inhuman speed and dug senbon into them. A small drip of water in the air moved as Haku moved passed the spot it was in, leaving a small sign of where he was moving. This time, however, Sasuke got his fair share of the attack too and he found himself crying out in pain as the senbon ripped his already damaged skin.

The clones disappeared and Naruto fell heavily to the ground again, even more injured than last time. He ignored the stings and pain the wounds were giving him as he quickly got back up to complain.

"How is he doing that?" Naruto whined.

'_It was barely there, but I saw it.'_ Sasuke remembered.

"One more time!" Naruto yelled. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Naruto and his clones leapt up, and Sasuke reacted quickly by kicking up a puddle so that it would shift as Haku passed it. The water rose, as did Naruto and his replicas, as Haku watched the same thing happen with an almost bored tone.

"Don't you see that it's useless?" He asked. Haku leapt from the mirror again and attacked Naruto with his senbon, but this time Sasuke watched out for the movements in the water he had kicked instead of trying to look out for Haku. The clones were destroyed and both Naruto and Sasuke fell to the ground with more shuriken injuries.

'_I can see his speed, but that doesn't mean I can match it. Maybe if Sakura were to—no! I will __**not**__ get Sakura in danger. I'll just have to figure out another way and…wait. The water didn't __**move**__, it was being repelled. What if I try something else? Not water, but…yes! Now it's my move.'_

[--

Zabuza chuckled as he continued to hold back Kakashi, without touching him but the previous impalement with the kunai was still a fresh wound and reminded Kakashi to take out Zabuza first.

"You think those Genin punks together can beat Haku?" Zabuza asked in amusement. "He's the ultimate weapon! A battle tool of destruction!"

"Have you finished bragging? You're putting me to sleep. Let's end this, right now." Kakashi said as he pulled up his Hatei-ate and revealed his Sharingan.

"Fine, but there's one more thing you should know. A little more bragging as you say." Zabuza stated as he put away his kunai. "Did you really think that our last battle was just win or lose? That I took your attacks like some weak Genin?"

[--

"_This is your last battle!" They cried together._

_Masses of red, white, black, brown, blue, purple and all sorts of other coloured chakra spin around the two, who seemed unaffected by it. Voices chanted words, but not a single letter was heard clearly enough to distinguish what was being said._

[--

"Haku was there. Hiding. Watching every move you made. Studying your Sharingan and Haruno's Kanjoo jiyuu. Usually Haku can see a jutsu once, and immediately devise a lethal counterattack." Zabuza boasted.

"Usually?" Sakura echoed.

"Well, why do you think he's so interested in Harunos? Your jutsu are the only ones he can't seem to figure out. They're too complex. But any, it's one of his gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your face when you realise that you're Sharingan is worthless."

Tazuna looked shocked, while Sakura frowned. Even she admired the Uchiha-clan's Sharingan, so to hear that someone could render it useless was shocking news to her.

"You once said that the same jutsu won't work on me twice. Now I'm telling _you_ that. Kiri Gakure no jutsu!" The mist-nin called as the mist around the bridge got thicker, causing Zabuza to seemingly disappear into it.

'_This is it.'_ Kakashi acknowledged. Sakura tried to get to Tazuna though the fog as fast as she could, but the poison was in the final stages before it was wiped out and it was making her tired. She fell to her knees and blinked to keep her eyes open.

[--

"_You're weak! You shall never amount to anything!" A man with white hair yelled at his five-year-old daughter._

"_Otou-san, don't be too hard on her." The boy with white hair and icy blue eyes stood next to his sister said. "It was my idea."_

"_I don't care! She's the one who was destined to be great, not you! You can't even activate your Kanjoo jiyuu!" Their father shouted, causing the boy with white hair to wince. "Ten years old and you can't even kill a rabbit. You're just like your mother!"_

"_NEVER SPEAK OF HER!" The little girl screamed, her eyes turning red and white._

"_DON'T YOU EVER TRY TO USE THAT ON ME!" Her father slapped her and, out of shock, the little girl deactivated her Kanjoo jiyuu._

"_Why did you do that?! She's just a kid!" The boy stood up for his sister._

"_She's a weapon and it's time she learned that."_

[--

Sakura shook her head as the haze the poison was creating in her mind was letting suppressed memories seep though. It wasn't painful physically, but the mental and emotional anguish that came with her repressed memories was more that enough for her.

'_What's going on? The mist is so think…visibility is zero. Where's that little kunoichi when you need her?'_ Tazuna thought in fear for his life.

"Sakura, are you there?" Kakashi called though the mist.

"I'm here!" She yelled back, trying to sound fine.

"Good. I need you to stay with Tazuna and protect him." He ordered. The pinkette stood on shaky legs and moved over to where she knew Tazuna was.

Said aforementioned bridge builder saw a dark figure coming towards him and almost panicked if it weren't for the colours he saw as the figure got closer to him. Pink and orange was a hard combination to mistaken and he knew then that it was Sakura.

"Tazuna-san, you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Sakura-san." He replied.

"Good. Just stay close and follow my lead." Sakura told him. Recognising the seriousness in her voice and realising that now was no time for petty arguments, Tazuna nodded.

"Alright. I'm right behind you." He promised.

[--

Back with Haku, Sasuke and Naruto, the three were still thinking of their own plans to kill and defeat respectively.

"I know you need me, Zabuza." Haku muttered. "I'll finish them off quickly."

Naruto activated shadow clone jutsu again and Haku grabbed a senbon.

'_He just won't give up.'_ The fake tracker-nin noted.

As he jumped out of the mirror to attack the clones again, he saw a ball of fire coming from Sasuke and didn't bother to hide his shocked face, since it was behind a mask anyway.

'_Fire ball jutsu?'_ He asked with a gasped as he twisted in mid-air to avoid the flaming ball. Haku re-entered the mirror before jumping out and attacking the Naruto clones as usual, but he was wary for more fire to be thrown at him.

"It shouldn't be taking this long to defeat them." Haku mumbled as he had to slash a shadow clone three times more before it disappeared and he moved onto the next one, only to have to attack it five times before continuing. As Naruto approached a mirror, Sasuke took a breath and blew a ball of fire.

Haku jumped form one mirror and into another before going after the final few Narutos, but he had to miss the blondes to dodge a rather large ball of fire that was aimed for him. He managed to dodge most of it, but it still caught him on the leg. Haku destroyed the rest of the clones as quickly as he could and returned to his mirror after delivering a blow to the real Naruto.

The blonde fell into a crumpled heap on the ground before getting up shakily. He and Sasuke were both panting and covered in bleeding wounds, but Haku looked just as he did when he began the fight, save for a burn on his trouser leg and a crack in the middle of his mask. The team seven boys gritted their teeth as they remained standing.

Sasuke smirked. _'Ha. Got him that last time. I think I'm staring to get the timing.'_ He realised with a mental boast and party to glorify his small but significant find.

[--

Kakashi was looking around the mist, trying to find out were his enemy was._'I know the jutsu, but this mist is even too thick for Zabuza. How can he see in it? Let alone fight!'_

The Jounin heard the wind being cut and grabbed a kunai, turning in enough time to counter every shuriken so that they fell uselessly to the ground in front of him instead of ripping though his back and killing him instantly. Not too far away, he heard Sakura doing the same.

"Very skilful." Zabuza's voice called out from the mist. "Both of you are, in fact. As I'd expect from Kakashi the Sharingan warrior and Sakura the clan prodigy."

Kakashi gasped as he heard Zabuza from behind him, close enough to kill or be killed by a fast kunai thrower, but that wouldn't work. The scarecrow named man turned to face his opponent, who had a one-handed tiger sign formed in front of him.

'_His eyes are closed!'_ Kakashi noticed.

"Next time you see me, Kakashi, will be the last time you see anything at all. I promise you that." Zabuza warned. "Without your Sharingan, you're nothing." He said as he faded away again.

"What?" Kakashi gasped as he could no longer see Zabuza.

"You wanted me to believe that your Sharingan could see though anything; even though time. But I guess that the prediction Haruno made of it being my final battle was wrong. I'm still here." He boasted. "You're nothing but a fraud, Kakashi. You can't read the future and you can't read me. Sharingan is nothing but a cheap trick that makes you seem more powerful than you are."

"What about you?" Kakashi asked.

"What do you mean?" Zabuza enquired.

"Your mist is nothing but a cheap party trick. Come out of it and fight me like a man before you die like a dog!" Hatake dared.

"Okay, but you asked for it. I know the weakness of the _great _Sharingan warrior. An enemy you can't see and you can't hear."

[--

"Sakura…are you okay?" Tazuna asked his guard when he saw her sway slightly.

"I…I'm fine." She replied. However, her body contradicted her words as she fell to her knees, panting at the toll the poison was taking on her body.

"You really should lie when your life is on the line, you know." The older man told her as he knelt down to take her temperature. "You're burning and…you were poisoned, weren't you?!" He accused.

"Yeah. So what?" She panted as she clutched her stomach and fell completely on her side in the foetal position. Sakura groaned and began to breathe heavily.

"So?! Look at you! You're dying!" Tazuna yelled. Sakura didn't hear him as she fell into unconsciousness and had flash memories serve as a dream.

[--

Naruto and Sasuke were unmoving in the ice mirror prison, wait for inspiration or an attack to hit them, which one didn't matter. Sasuke growled as he got impatient.

'_He read my movements.'_ Haku thought stunned as he looked down at Sasuke. _'But that's not possible!'_

"I was so close but I couldn't quite get to him." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Naruto." Sasuke called to get his attention. "Can you do it again?"

"Huh? Of course! Nothing can stop me! Dattebayo!" Naruto claimed in confidence.

'_He doesn't want to show it, but he's exhausted. The shadow clone jutsu uses up too much chakra, but thanks to him I've figured it out. I know how to break though.'_ Sasuke noticed. He then looked passed the mirrors, but couldn't see anything. _'This fog has gotten so thick, I can't even check on Sakura any more. I hope she's okay out there.'_

'_The human eye cannot track my movements. It must have been a mere coincidence.'_ Haku assured himself. The mirrors glowed and Sasuke preformed quick hand seals.

"Naruto! Run for it!" He ordered. "Get out of here and attack from the outside! Hurry!"

"Uh…alright, you got it!" Naruto said as he ran towards one of the gaps between the ice mirrors.

"You cannot escape." Haku stated confidently. He pushed the blonde back, but Naruto just got up and ran towards the gap again.

"You think you can keep me in here?! Well, forget it!" Naruto yelled, closing his eyes and running blindly towards the gap. Haku got out of the mirror and Sasuke saw him.

"Yes! Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" He called, shooting a ball of fire from his mouth.

It was all in slow-motion. Naruto running, Haku speeding towards him and Sasuke's jutsu heading right for the brunette. However, Haku saw the attack and dodged it flawlessly, releasing a senbon towards Sasuke as he carried on to stop Naruto. He landed in front of the blonde and kicked him back as the senbon entered Sasuke's shoulder. Haku then returned to the ice mirror.

"I couldn't get passed him." Naruto panted as he got back up. Sasuke remained on one knee and panted as he pulled the senbon out of his shoulder.

"That was good, Naruto." He complimented gruffly as he stood. "One more time?"

"Yeah, let's do it! For Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered.

'_There must be a limit to his chakra too. I can feel him slowing down.'_ The Uchiha noted. Naruto charged towards another gap in the mirrors and Sasuke ran for a different one.

"No more games." Haku pronounced. "I need to stop this now!" He got out of the mirror and raised a senbon. "This time you'll stay down!" The senbon was thrown at Sasuke and hit him in the back, just as another ten came at him from the front, five from the left, seven from the right and three from behind. Sasuke cried out as each tore his flesh and drew blood.

Naruto stopped after hearing Sasuke's cry and turned to face his male team mate. His eyes widened when he saw the senbon and he prepared himself to run and help him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto call as he began to run. However, he was cut off after three steps but the same barrage of senbon being aimed at him. They hit and Naruto cried out.

[--

"Ugh." Sakura groaned as she turned onto her back. Tazuna sighed and watched her suffer uselessly from the side. He looked down in shame at not being able to help her after she risked her life for him with the Demon Brothers.

[--

'_An enemy you can't see and can't hear.'_ Kakashi thought to himself. He frowned. _'It's been a long time since I faced anyone this tough. As for Sasuke and Naruto…I don't know if they can hold out. Sakura…what's going on? Have you repelled the poison or…no…I can't even think that! I have to stay calm. Think. Where will he strike?'_

"Sakura and Tazuna-san!" Kakashi realised as he turned to go to them.

[--

"N-N…Naru…to…" Sakura murmured in her sleep as Tazuna watched over her feverish dream. "Sa…Sasu…ke…wh…where are…you?" She cried, tossing onto her side before rolling onto her stomach. "Ts…Tsuki?"

[--

"_I…I really like you, Sakura-chan!" A pale six-year-old boy with harlequin green hair and maroon eyes confessed as he turned bright red. The girl in front of him froze and looked at him with her mouth agape._

"_U-Umm…Tsuki…I…" She stuttered, trying to find the words._

"_Just say it. You hate me now." He muttered in sadness. The girl hugged him and smiled at him when she pulled away._

"_I don't hate you. But, maybe we could pretend this never happened for now. My dad…" Sakura trailed off, looking to the sky where the snow fell from._

"_I get it. Just remember…I'll always be here for you, Sakura-chan."_

[--

"T…Tai…Taiyoo…" She continued.

"Who are Tsuki and Taiyoo?" Tazuna wondered out loud as he kept an eye on the poisoned kunoichi.

[--

"_What do you want to be when you grow up, Sakura-chan?"_

"_I don't know, Taiyoo."_

"_Really?"_

"_Well, I do know one thing."_

"_What is it?"_

"_I want to be a kunoichi."_

"_But you're already a kunoichi. You have been since we were four and that's three years now."_

"_But…I'm not a kunoichi."_

"_Then what are you?"_

"…_A murderer."_

[--

"Come on, Sakura. Wake up." Tazuna pleaded with the feverish girl. "I need help."

Zabuza appeared behind him as he was knelt down next to Sakura. He turned and saw Zabuza running at him with his sword unsheathed and poised for attack. He ran swung his blade round, meeting flesh, but not that of the bridge builder. Kakashi was too late.

A scream was heard, running over the bridge and causing anyone within hearing distance to cry for the girl who suffered to produce it. however, if you listened carefully, there was the light, breezy laughter of a child behind the painful scream.

The Broken Seal

"That scream!" Sasuke said, getting up from the attack. "Naruto!" He called out, only to see the blonde clenching his fists with tears gathering in his blue eyes.

"It was Sakura-chan. She's hurt, teme, and we're not there to help her. I promised her that I'd protect her. I never said it, but she's my best friend, teme." Naruto muttered.

"I know…what's happening to her? She would never…_never_ let anyone know she was hurt, let alone scream." Sasuke noted. Naruto nodded.

"Why isn't Kakashi-sensei helping her?" Naruto asked.

"We've got to break though. We have to help her." Sasuke said in all seriousness.

"I'll bust us out of here." Naruto promised, getting up off the floor with much pain.

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered in awe as the blonde seemed to ignore the pain in his body to get up and grin.

"I'll fake him out." He said, grinning and panting as he tried to remain on his feet. "I have to get to Sakura-chan."

'_He cares so much about her…and she cares about him too…they both care about each other so much.'_ Sasuke noticed.

"You've exhausted my patience." Haku growled.

Naruto growled back and gathered his chakra until he was surrounded by swirling blue chakra. He kicked off and ran quickly towards Haku, leaving blue chakra in his steps as it dripped off of him. He was literally covered in powerful chakra.

Haku predicted his move and appeared in a mirror close to the gap he was going for. However, Naruto had anticipated this. He twisted in a jump and ran in the opposite direction with Haku running next to him in the mirrors so it looked as if Haku was Naruto's reflection. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Haku came to a stop and drew senbon.

"Naruto! Behind you!" He called out. Naruto stopped and turn in time to see three senbon heading towards him, but he was too slow to dodge them and they hit him in the chest. "Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, seeing his team mate crumple to the ground again.

"Your chance of escaping my house of mirrors…is zero." Haku informed them. "That is absolute."

Sasuke ran forwards to where Naruto fell and looked at the orange-wearing knucklehead. He knelt down and check to see if Naruto was actually conscious. Naruto's chest was rising and falling with his laboured breaths and his eyes were open, proving that he was alive and awake.

"Naruto, can you get up?" Sasuke asked him. Naruto tried. "Try not to use any more chakra." He warned him. "It's only going to help _him_ now, so don't bother."

"I know, Sasuke. I know." Naruto grunted as he got up slowly. "I can't give up. I need to…Sakura-chan…needs me." He panted. He collapsed again and Sasuke sighed, looking at the blonde in worry.

'_We can't go on like this. He's blocking every move we make. At this rate, Sakura might be…dead…before we get to her. Ugh. Even thinking that makes me feel sick.'_ Sasuke thought. _'I've got to find a way to outmanoeuvre him.'_ He stood up. _'My eyes have adjusted to his movements.'_

"Looking for a counter-attack?" Haku asked as he appeared in one of the mirrors with three senbon in his hand. "I'll save you the trouble." He stated, moving to a different mirror to confuse Sasuke before throwing the needles.

The Uchiha picked up one of the pre-used senbon on the ground and used it to block all of the senbon thrown at him with great speed. His speed was so good, in fact, that you would have missed the movements if you blinked.

'_What?'_ Haku asked. Sasuke fell to one knee as the senbon clattered to the ground. He grunted and breathed heavily.

"Get up, loser. We have to team up." Sasuke ground out to the fallen blonde next to him. Naruto took a shaky breath and got up on his knees with much difficulty.

'_I'm aiming at his vital spots now…but I can't get a direct hit.'_ Haku noticed with a sour tone.

"I know what we have to do…Dattebayo." Naruto said. Haku threw hundreds of senbon towards the boys, but Sasuke blocked every single one with what looked like ease, except it took all of his energy not to collapse instead.

'_It's not just luck.'_ Haku realised. _'He's fighting to protect his friend so they can go and help the girl. He's so determined. But he can't possibly see the needles coming.'_ The boy released more senbon and Sasuke pushed an almost fully standing Naruto out of the way so he could deflect them.

"Argh!" The Uchiha cried out. Sasuke looked down when he felt a sharp pain and saw that two senbon were dug firmly into his leg.

'_My movements are beyond human speed.'_ Haku continued. _'And yet, he's tracking them. Somehow. Whatever he's doing, I've got to stop him and I have to do it now.' _Haku's form melted further into the mirror until it was no longer visible.

"He disappeared!" Sasuke noticed. "Where'd he go? How could he just vanish like that?! Naruto, you'd better not pass out again. Come on, let's go. I can't keep protecting you like this."

"Well then, don't." Naruto grunted in pain. "I never asked did for your help." He told the Uchiha as he fell back.

"Naruto! What about Sakura? Come on!" Sasuke yelled as he turned, ready to slap Naruto awake for being so inconsiderate.

"You can't revive him." Haku's voice told him. "He's reached his limits."

"Shut up." He muttered. Sasuke turned and saw Haku in one of the higher mirrors, laughing about Naruto's defeat. He growled and launched the senbon in his hand towards the brunette without really think. Haku easily deflected it and moved.

"Impressive. You have excellent moves." Haku complimented from his new spot in one of the lower mirrors behind Sasuke. "Your attacks are very skilful." He said as he launched three more senbon and disappeared again. Sasuke dodged. "But you've reached _your_ limits as well." He said as he appeared in front of Sasuke with more senbon.

"Ah!" Sasuke grunted in shock.

"Motor functions." Haku moved. "Reflexes. Judgement" He moved for each word he said. "Your abilities are weakening, slowly but surely." He told him, not staying put but continuously moving from one mirror into another. "Now, you're finished!"

'_Here he comes.'_ Sasuke thoughts, getting ready for the attack. _'Stay calm. Focus. Concentrate. See everything.'_ His eyes widened as everything seemed to slow down and become clearer. He grabbed Naruto under his arm and jumped, just a split-second before the senbon hit the ground where he and Naruto once were.

'_He saw every move.'_ Haku noticed as he jumped back into his ice mirror after throwing the needles. _'But…there's no way he could do that.'_

Haku looked over at Sasuke, who was standing. He grunted and dropped Naruto, panting from the effort he just exerted by carrying Naruto away from the danger. When he looked up, his eyes were no longer onyx, but crimson red.

He had black outlines in both eyes and two black tomoe surrounding where the pupil would go in his right eye, but only one in his left. The pupil was still there, but smaller than a normal one. Sasuke had just developed the Sharingan.

"Impossible." Haku muttered when he saw the eyes. "Those eyes…he has the Sharingan. You're…"

"It's not complete, but I can see though his deceptions." Sasuke whispered to himself.

"So, he too has a kekkei genkai. Hmm, the only one who hasn't shown one now is the blonde, I guess. Even though his is not complete, to uncover it in the midst of a lethal attack, is amazing." Haku held his senbon tighter. _'Because of that, I won't be able to fight much longer. My jutsu used a tremendous amount of chakra. And his swift movements also take energy. There's no doubt that the longer we fight, the more he will use the Sharingan to perceive my moves. Even now…his eyes are tracking me. I can't target him directly, he'd block it. So I'll have to throw him off guard…by attacking his partner. Then I'll destroy him.'_

Haku got out of his mirror and aimed directly at Naruto, who was still limp on the ground.

'_What?!'_ Sasuke asked, see the attack. _'I've got to stop him!'_

[--

_Zabuza appeared behind him as he was knelt down next to Sakura. He turned and saw Zabuza running at him with his sword unsheathed and poised for attack. He ran swung his blade round, meeting flesh, but not that of the bridge builder. Kakashi was too late._

_A scream was heard, running over the bridge and causing anyone within hearing distance to cry for the girl who suffered to produce it. however, if you listened carefully, there was the light, breezy laughter of a child behind the painful scream._

Kakashi looked in front of him and saw Zabuza with his swords digging though Sakura's shoulder as she stood in front of Tazuna with a dazed expression. If any more pressure was put on the sword during the swing, Sakura might have just lost an arm, yet she didn't seem affected when her scream ended.

"Don't…don't worry…Tsuki." Sakura panted in a fever-induced illusion where she thought she was saving someone named 'Tsuki'.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked. she turned to him and smiled, a true smile that looked like it belonged on the face of an innocent little girl playing in a garden.

"Konnichiwa, Taiyoo." She said wistfully, her voice raspy. "Don't worry, you guys. Haruno-sensei won't hurt you." Sakura paused and looked at Zabuza. "Will you, otou-sensei?" She asked.

Everyone was shocked as she ripped the sword out of her shoulder and punched Zabuza in the jaw with that same, injured arm, sending him reeling back. She then smiled and promptly fell over due to the fever and her newly found exhaustion formed by fighting with it.

Zabuza got up and rubbed his jaw, looking from the dead-faint girl to the bridge-builder holding her, then at Kakashi. He sighed and grabbed his sword from the ground were Sakura had thrown it.

"You're a little late, Kakashi. She'll die from blood-loss if the poisoned fever doesn't get to her first." Zabuza told him.'

"Poison?" Kakashi echoed.

"She didn't tell you? In that attack on the ice mirrors, Haku sent her back with poisoned senbon rather than regular ones. Only the best for a Haruno he admires so much." He told them almost sarcastically. "You're eyes are sharp, Kakashi, but no longer sharp enough to read my moves. Come on, I want his to be _fun_. To enjoy myself as I exact my revenge! As for those brats, they're breathing their lasts breaths."

"Nuh." Sakura moaned in her sleep as she unconsciously grabbed her bleeding shoulder. Kakashi looked back at her, only to find Tazuna already bandaging her wound.

"Don't worry, Kakashi. You'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology for not being able to save these kids in the _next_ life!" Zabuza chuckled darkly as he melted into the mist again.

"N…Naruto and S…Sasuke will be…be okay." Sakura murmured in her semi-conscious state. She smiled at Kakashi when he looked down at her.

"Yes. I have confidence in their abilities. Naruto, the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja. And Sasuke, heir to the most powerful clan in the hidden leaf village." Kakashi stated. Zabuza, who was listening in, gasped.

"You mean…?" Zabuza trailed off.

"Yes. His full name, is _Uchiha_ Sasuke. The unique powers of the Uchiha clan run though his veins. The kekkei genkai is his birthright." Kakashi said proudly.

"Huh. I heard that one little ninja survived the Uchiha clan massacre. No wonder he advances so quickly. But, so does Haku. No one can match him. Not even some Uchiha brat." Zabuza grunted, getting into his fighting stance with his sword firmly in hand. "No one has ever stopped his secret jutsu, even the most skilled Jounin fall before him." He became invisible in the mist again. "Just as you will fall before me! Right now!"

"Tazuna, keep an eye on Sakura. Her ninja instincts are still flawless and she can protect you, but I don't want her falling to sleep from her exhaustion and never waking up. Do you hear me?" Kakashi ordered.

"Yes, of course." Tazuna replied, shifting with Sakura so that she was lying on her back on the ground and he was sitting next to her, ready to hold her down if she tried to get up and fight without needing to.

Kakashi nodded and ran off into the mist, leaving Tazuna and Sakura with only a hope of their well-being. He had no doubt Tazuna would be okay, for Sakura truly did have perfect instincts when it came to danger, but if she felt the danger around his battle when Tazuna wasn't in danger and she tried to help, she could tired herself to death.

'_Zabuza was right. Now it the time to end this…but __**he**__ is the one who will fall!'_ Kakashi promised as he ran on.

[--

Naruto groaned and shifted in his sleep before he opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. It all came back to him. The fight, Sakura's scream, him telling Sasuke to basically get lost before falling unconscious and…Sakura could be seriously hurt now. He looked at the scene though hazy vision. From what Naruto could see, Sasuke was standing in front of him with Haku on the ground in a heap.

"You always…get in the way, Naruto." Sasuke panted in pain. "It never fails." He said. Naruto sat up and grinned.

"Ha! You beat him, Sasuke!" He congratulated, but the grin fell off of his face when he saw Sasuke shaking and covered in more senbon that he thought was humanly possible. Naruto froze in shock when Sasuke turned around, a trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth and scratches all over his cheeks and forehead.

"Heh…you should see…the look on your face." Sasuke said, pausing to take breaths. "You…You look like a total…loser." He concluded. Naruto's face didn't change and he sat up more to see Sasuke better.

"Wait…why did you…save me?" Naruto asked slowly, trying to think of the words between his heavy breaths. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know why. I just did." He stated. Sasuke remembered all the times he'd teased Naruto and about Naruto proclaiming his dream during the introduction and it hit him. "You…I hated you."

"Then why?" Naruto asked, getting up onto his feet. "It doesn't make any sense. Why did you…protect me?" He clenched his fist and growled as Sasuke smirked. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for you to save me!"

"I don't know. My body just moved. There was no time to think. All I know is, that if I could change what happened…or if it was Sakura instead of you…I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You two aren't just my team mates any more…but I don't know how to describe you." He finished as he fell backwards. "Loser." Sasuke grunted as he fell. Naruto sprung forwards and caught him before he hit the floor.

"Sasuke!" He called. Sasuke looked up at him with a dazed look and a small frown.

"Hey…he's still out there." Sasuke told him. "My brother. I promised myself…I'd stay…alive…until…I'd killed him" He panted. "Naruto, don't let your dream…die. And…tell Sakura that…dreams are important, so she shouldn't…give up on them…just yet." He ended as his body went limp.

Naruto looked down at Sasuke's dead body and something inside of him began to stir as he held the limp Uchiha tighter without realising it. Haku, meanwhile, was getting up and going over the previous battle.

'_He found…'_ Haku thought. _'He found a strength he didn't realise he had until that moment. Why? Because of the two people who were precious to him. To save them both, even if it meant his own life.'_

[--

"_Why do you fight when you know you can't win?" Haku asked Sasuke as he charged._

"_So that Naruto doesn't die. If he did, Sakura would be crush. I would rather die myself than see her break like that. And Naruto…I don't know what I'd do without him."_

[--

'_He rushed to save his friend, even when he knew for sure that it was just a trap.'_ Haku got up and bowed to the dead body of Uchiha Sasuke. _'He was a true ninja worthy of honour.'_

"Sasuke…" Haku heard Naruto whisper. He straightened himself and returned to the cold boy he was when he killed Sasuke.

"Is this the fist time you have seen a true friend die in battle?" Haku asked. "This is what it truly means to be a ninja." He stated a he sank into the mirror behind him.

"Shut up." Naruto demanded as he set down Sasuke's body. "I…I hated you too Sasuke…and yet…you'll pay for this." He threatened as he unknowingly gathered his chakra and caused smoke to rise in a circle around him and Sasuke. The smoke became red chakra spiralling upwards from the ground around them, destroy rock.

"Hm?" Haku asked him shock. Naruto's body shook as the chakra became more violent. He looked up and his eyes had become red with slits for pupils, his whiskers deeper and more prominent and his fangs sharper as his hair became spikier.

"I'm gonna kill you." He stated darkly, sounding as if two people were talking at once. The chakra spread close to the mirrors.

"What is this chakra?" Haku wondered. "Chakra cannot be seen, and yet it's clearly visible. It's something ghastly. I can feel the wrath. The blood lust, like evil itself."

The chakra formed the shape of a fox's head as the senbon dropped out of Naruto's skin and all of his wounds healed. His nails grew longer and sharper too.

"His hand is healing…and changing." Haku said in fear. "This boy…what is he?"

Naruto looked towards Haku and the blood lust rolled off of him in waves, causing the masked boy to all but choke on the killing intent and tension in the air.

[--

From where he was, Kakashi felt the demonic aura in great tsunamis coming from where Naruto was.

'_Is Zabuza creating this?'_ Kakashi wondered.

[--

Zabuza even stopped and his eyes widened when he saw the red and orange chakra in the sky.

'_What is this energy?'_ Zabuza wondered to himself. _'Something foul and utterly evil. Kakashi perhaps? No, it's too powerful even for him. Who is it coming from?'_

[--

The chakra in the shape of a fox's head roared.

[--

Kakashi's eyes widened. _'He's not. I know this chakra. There's no way. It's impossible…Naruto! this puts everyone in danger. Now, of all times, the seal has broken. I have to stop it.'_

[--

The chakra disappeared and Naruto's features became even more demonic as he looked at Haku. The latter held his senbon, knowing that they'd be useless now but liking to have some form of defence. Naruto ran at him like an animal, on all fours.

[--

Tazuna was shocked into stillness by the overshadowing aura of Naruto's power and he didn't even notice Sakura's eyes snap open suddenly. In fact, he didn't even realise she was awake until she got up and bolted to where Naruto and Sasuke were. By the time he noticed her gone, it was too late to stop her.

[--

_In a garden covered in snow, two seven-year-olds sat with snow drop flowers surrounding them._

"_Tsuki?" A young girl called out to her companion._

"_Yeah?" Tsuki replied._

"_Remember when you told me that you liked me?" She asked. Tsuki nodded._

"_Why?" He questioned back._

"_I think…that I like you too. But…I'm not sure." The girl smiled._

_That night, her laughter chimed throughout all of Yukigakure, only to end with her bloodcurdling screaming._

"_TSUKI!"_

[--

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.


	10. A Bridge to Last! Cha!

Chapter Ten

White Past: Hidden Ambition

Naruto roared as his demonic features became more prominent and his bloodlust rose. Sasuke's limp form behind him remained still, other than a small rustle in his shirt from the overwhelming chakra. Haku watched Naruto though calculating eyes, not letting his concern of this new form take-over his thoughts and logical actions.

'_The bloodlust in his eyes…'_ Haku thought, shielding his masked face from the gathering dust subconsciously. _'…this is no longer a child.'_ He continued, sensing the demonic aura. Naruto growled again leapt towards the mirror Haku was in.

Reacting upon pure instinct, Haku sent three senbon in Naruto's direction, but they were easily thwarted by the orange chakra that had once subsided, but now came back to protect the one who summoned it. Using speed no one knew he possessed, Naruto continued with his charge, but Haku moved to a different mirror.

Looking around like a confused animal trapped in a cage with no way out in sight, Naruto tried to find Haku once again. All around him was some sort of pulsing wind current with the same pull and feel as the orange chakra, only it wasn't visible to the human eye. He growled and looked around him.

'_His chakra grows stronger every second.'_ Haku noticed with alarm. His reflection appeared in every mirror, all holding senbon. _'I must strike now.'_ He concluded, throwing all of the senbon.

They moved for Naruto's position, and the blonde turned to see the ones from behind him. Each needle hit its intended target. However, all Naruto did was roar and stand straight for the senbon to fly out from his flesh and a wave of orange chakra healed the wounds. The orange chakra subsided again and Naruto grunted loudly.

Not wasting any time, Naruto leapt up and punched one of the ice mirrors, causing it to shatter. Haku's reflection jumped out, from one of the many shards, with a kunai, heading for Naruto. He held the weapon tightly, confident that he would hit his target. Unfortunately for him, Naruto spun away too fast, landing on his feet and knuckles. He looked at the brunette and glared.

"Impossible." Haku muttered with something akin to fear in his voice. He moved back to go inside another mirror, but was caught from the left by a tan hand, connected to an orange-covered sleeve. "Those eyes…!" He whispered as he turned to face the one who caught him. Naruto's orange chakra expanded and sent waves of powerful winds with it.

[--

"Could it be?" Kakashi asked himself quietly. "Has the seal truly been broken? No. It's been loosened, and a shiver of the Kyuubi's chakra has slipped though. But the seal still holds." He assured himself. Kakashi opened one of his vest's pockets and pulled out a scroll, unwinding it and cutting his thumb. He then smeared a line of his blood though the middle of the scroll. "Zabuza, I don't mean to put an end to your fun, but how about we end this now? Come on, we're both busy people." He asked, swinging his scroll around. Kakashi caught the scroll, which wrapped up in the air, and held it in his thumbs as he preformed the tiger seal.

"Tempting." Zabuza said from the mist. "But show me how you intend to back up those words, Kakashi!"

[--

Haku held his free hand in a tiger seal, trying to hold his ice mirror jutsu together as the chakra cracked them. The energy surrounding him and Naruto became so thick, it was almost suffocating him. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't seen affected by Haku's attempts on his life earlier or the obvious attempt to keep together his jutsu.

'_I can't…this energy…is too strong!'_ Haku managed though his muddled thoughts. Naruto's chakra covered fist clenched and his slowly drew it back before releasing it in one powerful blow to Haku's face. The latter was thrown back be the force, right though one of his mirrors. He landed on the ground outside the dome and rolled to a stop.

Now with no concentration or chakra to hold them together, the ice mirrors cracked, glowed once more and finally gave out, shattering into thousands of glass-like shards. The shards fell around Naruto's hunched form as Haku's mask cracked more than before. Haku rose slowly to his feet as his kekkei genkai was broken for the first time.

Still growling, Naruto strung forwards, in Haku's direction, to for fill his promise of an early demise. The brunette just stood there as his mask cracked, fully prepared to meet his impending doom. He closed his eyes as the world seemed to move slower than ever before, stretching out the few seconds between his failure and his death.

'_Zabuza, I am no match for this boy.'_ He thought with regret. Half of his face was revealed as part of the mask fell away. Naruto leapt into the air, poised for his killing strike. _'Master…'_ Haku mourned as the rest of the mask fell away, revealing a trail of blood coming from the corner of his mouth and the rest of his face. _'I have failed.'_

Naruto drew closer, pulling back his fist.

Birds in the distant forest fled.

The second half of the mask hit the ground.

A slip of pink moved in front of Haku.

The fist stopped.

[--

"_Juhi-teme! I'll kill you!"_

"_Tsuki, stop!"_

[--

Naruto stood, panting as his fist halted inches away from a fair, feminine face, framed by pink hair. He drew in deep breaths, never holding them for long as he craved more oxygen. Sakura remained calm as she looked at the demonically changed boy she had grown to know as he friend, although he mind was screaming at her to run. Haku froze behind the girl, seeing her hair fly up as her own, green chakra surrounded her. He couldn't see her expression, but he knew it was calm and colleted. She had saved him.

[--

_Tsuki froze and pulled his fist away from the pinkette who moved in front of him. His eyes widened as he held his clenched hand close to his chest, knowing that he could have hit her instead. Sakura glared at him. Juhi froze behind the girl, seeing her hip-length hair spread around her face as green chakra surrounded her. She had saved him._

[--

"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto muttered as his face and body drew back from the evil mask and adopted his normal look. "Wh…Why?" He croaked.

"Please, Tsuki…Juhi-nii-san didn't mean to." Sakura muttered.

[--

"_Sakura-chan…why did you stop me?" Tsuki asked her in confusion._

"_Juhi-nii-san didn't mean to do it!" Sakura cried in defence._

"_N…Nii-san?" Tsuki repeated._

"_Yeah! He's my aniki!" The girl replied with her head tilted to the side to show her confusion. "Didn't you know that?"_

"_I…I thought he was…your boyfriend." Tsuki confessed._

"_I thought that __**you**__ were her boyfriend!" Juhi yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at Tsuki._

[--

"I…I'm not Tsuki. I'm Naruto! And he's not Juhi, either!" Naruto told her loudly.

"What's wrong with Taiyoo?" She murmured, looking over at Sasuke's limp form.

[--

"_I don't have a boyfriend! I…why isn't Taiyoo moving?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening._

"_I…he…he tried to stop me and I…hit him." Juhi confessed. "It was self defence! He'll be fine soon!" He added, seeing Sakura's lip quiver as if she were about to cry._

[--

"Tell me that he'll be okay, Juhi-nii-san." Sakura asked pleadingly. Her lip seemed to quiver for a moment before she fell back into Haku. The boy caught her on instinct.

[--

"_Well, well, well. Looks like my pathetic 'weapon' is going to cry." Sakura's father jeered as he entered the room. He kicked Taiyoo's body to one of the men behind him and shoved Juhi into the hands of the other. Tsuki, however, was picked up by the throat by the man and punched in the stomach._

"_Otou-san! You're hurting him!" Sakura yelled._

"_You're a weapon! I should have never allowed you to get too close to these weak twins, or that no good brother of yours! A medic-nin, for Kami-sama's sake, Juhi! She wants to be a medic-nin now because of you!" He scolded his son, hitting Juhi on the temple with the hilt of a kunai. Juhi didn't react, but watched Sakura._

_Her father spat at Juhi and continued to beat Tsuki until the boy had blood all over him. The red entered his eyes and Sakura knew, from the few medical classes she had attended, that he would become blind in that eye if she didn't help him. All she could do, however, was watch in fear of her father's wrath._

[--

"Don't touch her!" Naruto commanded. Haku paid no attention to him as he looked at Sakura's face with a small, serene smile splayed across his face. He brushed her bangs out of her face gently.

"I found you." Haku whispered to the unconscious girl. "At last, the only person other than Zabuza who didn't care about my powers. Now I know your name too…Sakura-chan."

"So, that guy in the woods…that was you?" He asked, a slip of anger sinking into his tone as he remembered the person collecting herbs. Haku neither answered nor looked up at Naruto as he continued to run his free hand though Sakura's hair. Eventually, he held Sakura in one arm and looked up at Naruto.

"Why do you not strike?" Haku asked, breaking him from his thought of the girl resting in the crook of his arm. "Did you not just vow to avenge your comrade's death by killing me? Or was that vow just empty words?"

Naruto looked back towards Sasuke, and then at Sakura. She too looked as pale as death, but her breathing was steady. Not a single slip of air passed Sasuke's lip, though. Whether in or out, never did Naruto expect to see a breath from the last Konoha-loyal Uchiha. He growled and let go of his fist, causing Haku to stumble back and fall to the ground from the punch his face received, but he did not let go of Sakura. He did, however, make sure that she received no damage from the hit or the landing.

Haku pulled himself onto his hands and knees, moving so that Sakura was resting next to his left hand, his head away from her, and he coughed a small trail of blood from his mouth. Naruto panted slightly, believing that to be enough. As he was, not controlled by the red chakra or the beast inside of him, he was too good-hearted to kill Haku. Even maiming him for life would be too much for Naruto to accomplish. Sakura, however, didn't stir from the movement.

"That won't be enough." Haku said almost mockingly as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "You're holding back. If that's all the strength you can put into it, then you shall never for fill your vow. Perhaps he didn't mean as much to you as you pretend." He jeered with a serious tone. As Naruto growled, Sakura shifted slightly in her 'sleep'.

[--

"_You're not going to use healing to save him? I thought that that pathetic brother of yours taught you to heal! Well?!" A tall man with white hair demanded of the shorter girl, who was kneeling by a boy about her age._

"_You hurt him! You hurt Tsuki!" The girl accused. Tsuki's breathing became more laboured as he coughed blood._

"_Can't you save him?" The man mocked._

"_Otou-san! Stop! I…I'll kill you!" She screamed, getting up from the ground and letting a green chakra surround her. The man, her father, just laughed._

"_Please! I made you what you are today!" He taunted. Clapping his hands twice, the two men with red hair holding the exact copy of the dying boy and a preteen who looked like a younger version of the laughing man held the two tighter._

"_Taiyoo! Juhi-nii-san! Don't hurt them too!" The girl cried. Her father chuckled, picked up a kunai and drove it though the stomach of the dying boy's twin. His daughter froze in her place as he moved and planted the kunai though the older boy's arm._

"_Want to save them, Sakura? Hmm?" He jeered._

"_I…I…" She stuttered. "I'LL KILL YOU!" The girl charged, but her anger clouded her skills. Her father easily pushed her back._

"_You're not fighting well enough. Perhaps they don't mean as much to you as you pretend they do."_

[--

She stilled again as Naruto remembered two things people said to him. As it turned out, they were the same person.

[--

"_Is there…someone who's precious to you?" Haku questioned._

[--

"_I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him, and I face death for him, so that his dream may become reality." The masked boy claimed._

[--

"To show mercy to those who oppose who you serve…" Haku began, standing up from the ground and holding Sakura with his arms around her knees and shoulders. "To allow his enemies to live, when you could strike them down. This is not compassion. It is a betrayal of your life's very purpose. For what reason do you exist, then? You are then of use to no one. Your life has no meaning. It is mere existence. Day after day of painful struggle, all for nothing."

"Yeah? Well…speak for yourself!" Naruto yelled, slightly unsure of his own retort.

"Are you really that blind, little one? I _am_ speaking of myself. This day has shown that I am no longer of any use to Zabuza." Haku smiled, looking down at Sakura and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Zabuza." Naruto echoed. "Why that guy, anyway?!" He asked. "To devote your life to a skunk who doesn't know the meaning of honour. If he's the only thing that matters to you…man, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

"There were once others who mattered to me. Long ago. My father…and my mother. I was born in the land of water, in a small village where the snow lay deep in the winter. My parents were farmers and we were very poor. It was hard, but we were content. We had dreams. We were happy once. But then, because of something that happened long before I was even born, everything changed.." He said, his tone darkening.

"Wh-what do you mean? What was it? What happened?" Naruto prompted curiously.

"It wasn't my doing. It is in the blood." Haku riddled.

"Blood?" Naruto copied. "So what was it? You said that something happened that changed everything!"

"It was…my father who changed. He killed my mother and almost killed me." The boy informed him solemnly. Naruto gasped. "After years of suffering the horrors of civil war, the people of my land had come to hate and fear anyone who carried the kekkei genkai in their blood."

"Kekkei genkai?" The blonde repeated.

"The advanced bloodline trait of a clan. Because of their abilities, the clans were used as mercenaries. They fought in many battles and were much feared. But when the wars were over, they were despised and shunned by the people, who feared their powers would only bring more war…and misfortune. So they went into hiding, and denied the bloodline trait that flowed in their veins, concealing their unique abilities and knowing that to reveal them meant death. If you searched Haruno or Uchiha's memorises, you would find it there. The cruelty of people. Their fear of things they don't understand."

"Sasuke…Sakura-chan." Naruto muttered, looking towards the Uchiha clan child in the area the ice dome once was and then to the Haruno in his enemy's arms. His eyes were wide and full of questions, but Sakura was not awake and Sasuke was in no condition to answer them.

"My mother had done well in concealing her abilities, and even fell in love with a simple farmer. They were married and after that my mother believed that she would lead a peaceful, ordinary life to the very end of her days."

[--

"_Haha! Ha! Okaa-chan! Look what I can do!" A young Haku said gleefully as he manipulated the water of melted snow. His mother dropped the cloth she was carrying in shock. "Look what I made!" He exclaimed, standing so she could see it better. "Isn't it beautiful?"_

"_NO!" His mother shrieked. She grabbed his arm, causing the water to fall to the ground. "You must never do that! Do you hear me?! NEVER!" Haku was dragged to the house, where his mother shook him. "You wicked, wicked child!"_

"_Okaa-chan! What is it?" Haku asked, wondering what it was that he did wrong. "Stop! Okaa-chan-!" He was cut off when his mother slapped him around the face, hard. She then realised what she did and began to cry._

"_Oh! I'm sorry." She sobbed. "Sorry, my darling. I'm sorry." She repeated over and over. Neither noticed the man standing not too far away with a glare directed at both of them._

[--

"My father had seen." Haku said. "Now he knew our secret, my mother's and mine."

[--

_A plate smashed as the sounds of a painful struggle were heard throughout the small hut Haku and his parents resided in. Haku backed away from his father, who was next to the blooded body of his beloved mother. He crawled further away, as his father drew nearer with a plank of blood-stained wood. Three other men stood behind him as he raised the wood to hit Haku._

_A rabbit hopped away as Haku stumbled mutely out of his home, his clothing torn and his hair a mess. He fell to the ground and flinched and sobbed as the cold snow bit as his skin when it fell from above. His eyes were wide, not wanting to look behind him, for back were he came was the worst sight he had ever seen._

_The quaint hut his parents and he once lived was stuck though with huge, sharp icicles, all of them having ripped though at least one of the men in the hut on their way through._

[--

"When at last I was myself again, I was no longer myself. My father and mother were gone, but knew that something else had been taken from me in the process. Something even more important, and that is when I truly despaired." Haku stated morbidly.

"More important that your mother and father?" Naruto asked non-believingly. "What?"

"My purpose." Haku informed. "In all the world, there was no longer a person who needed me. I was…unnecessary." He claimed. Naruto's eyes widened.

'_Just like me.'_ He recognised.

"Why is it you're so determined to be Hokage? Because you want all eyes in your village to look at you and recognise you as a great ninja. You see, it is only though the eyes of others that our little lives have any significance. When there is no one who sees you, or will even look at you, it is as if you don't exist." He mused.

'_No one looked at me…not until…Sakura-chan…'_ Naruto attempted to sort though his own musings as he listened to Haku's heart-tugging speech.

"Then Zabuza came and he looked at me, and his eyes were not full of hate _or_ fear. He did not shun me for my strangeness. Indeed, my special powers were just what he wanted. He made me necessary again."

[--

"_Huh. Little kid like you. with no one to look after you, you'll die a beggar's death out here." Zabuza taunted._

"_Hey, know what? Your eyes remind me of mine." Haku smiled._

"_Well, little one. Will you stay here and die, or come with me and be of some use? Will you serve me and submit to my will of all things?" The older man asked. After a moment of silence Haku nodded. "Your strengths and abilities belong to me, from this day forward."_

_Haku looked at the man and, without taking his eyes away, got up from the ground and walked in his direction. Zabuza greatly over-shadowed him, but they seemed to be destined to work together._

"_Let us go then." He said, placing a hand atop of Haku's head. Zabuza removed his hand and placed it on Haku's shoulder, steering him from the bridge._

[--

Naruto looked at Haku as the older boy seemed to be caught in a memory or daydream. The blonde also noticed that he kept stealing glances down towards Sakura every few moments and it was starting to annoy him that Sakura wasn't awake to tell him to stop or to hit him. Then again, after seeing her condition before she fell, he knew she would either be in pain or still believe Haku to be her 'aniki'.

"I have failed you, Zabuza." Haku muttered, looking up from the pink-haired girl. "I am like a weapon that has been broken and is of no further use." He looked up and walked towards Naruto, who backed away slightly out of caution. Haku stopped, looked at Sakura and took a deep breath.

"What are you-?" Naruto began, but he was cut off.

"Naruto…kill me."

[--

Kakashi, still holding his scroll, began to perform more hand seals, never letting the scroll fall. He pressed the scroll to the ground, creating a small dent, and called out the name of his jutsu. The kanji on the scroll flowed out of each end and into the ground, since the jutsu was a ground style, and Kakashi called 'summoning'.

"It's time to end this." Kakashi called out to his unseen opponent. Zabuza chuckled from somewhere in the mist, deciding Kakashi's jutsu to be futile.

"I don't know why you bother." Zabuza taunted. "What use is your jutsu if you can't even find me? But I can find you." He held his right hand in the symbol for tiger. "Blindly falling into my trap. You really do disappoint me, Kakashi. However, I think you're right. It _is_ time to end this."

As Zabuza was about to perform his jutsu, his eyes widened and he lifted his foot in just enough time to avoid being bitten by a Hatei-ate wearing dog that came up from the ground. It growled when it missed, but Zabuza wasn't quick enough to dodge the bite to his other leg. A group of more dogs sprung up from the ground and attacked him from all sides.

[--

"That dreadful noise…what could it be?" Tazuna whispered to himself as he tried to make it though the mist to find one of the ninja assigned to protect him. "Sakura…what's the matter with you?! I can't protect myself out here!"

[--

Kakashi lifted his right hand from the scroll, then the left and stood up, leaving the scroll on the ground. He straightened his posture as much as he could without ruining his usual 'lazy' façade, and faced the direction Zabuza's yell came from. Inwardly smirking, Kakashi gloated.

"I realised that if I couldn't _see_ you, then I'd have to _smell_ you out." He told the rogue-nin. "That was a summoning jutsu. I was calling forth my ninken, and they can track a scent _anywhere_."

Zabuza stood, being covered by dogs. A large one on his back, biting his shoulder, was probably bigger than him. Other, smaller dogs, took his arms, legs, upper body and second shoulder. No two dogs were the same size and all had a Hatei-ate for the village hidden in the leaves—aka, Konoha—attached to them somewhere.

"When you attacked me, I let you get passed my guard. I wanted you to cut me. You see, it was the smell of my blood on your blade that lead them to you. Surprised? Looks like I wasn't the only one who was too blind to notice the obvious. Ha, falling into my trap…you disappoint me, Zabuza." He jeered.

"Grrrr, I'll still have you're head, Kakashi." Zabuza promised. Kakashi ignored him and looked around.

"Ah! It looks like the mist is finally clearing. And do you want to know what I see? Your death." Kakashi assured him.

"Talk, talk. Do you want to talk me to death?" His opponent grunted, being a sore loser. Well, you'd be sore too if you had dogs knowing on your body and a future of darkness in the lowest rings of hell to look forward to.

"In a way…yes." Kakashi replied with a mocking smile. "Right now my hounds are just playing with you. Just one word from me and they'll tear you apart. Poor Zabuza. See where your ambitions got you?"

"In a fight with a filthy mutt summoner?" Zabuza asked humourlessly.

"Not quite. You were always pushing things too far. You're failed assassination attempt on the Mizukage forced you to flee with the few followers you had left. Now, you're crazy enough to try it again. To try it, you needed money. To get that money, you stooped so low as to become a hired thug of a swine like Gato."

"Hn." He replied, acting nonchalantly.

"Fine. Enough talk. Time to finish what I started, but it wont be with Sharingan, or imitations of other ninja's tricks. No. it's time you saw my own jutsu!" Kakashi declared, performing the sign for monkey. After two more signs, his palm was facing up and blue lightening began to form in his hand. "Chidori!" He called.

"Chakra so strong that it's visible!" Zabuza gasped in shock. _'He holds it in his hand.'_

"I won't allow you to kill Tazuna." Kakashi stated. "He's a brave man with a noble dream. The bridge he's building hold all the hope for this land and it's people. You're like a disease. By attacking one, you affect all. You don't care. That is _not_ the way of a shinobi."

"You're right." Zabuza admitted. "I _don't_ care! These useless little people and their pathetic dreams…why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own."

"But to have a dream, you need to have a future. You don't." Kakashi said as his gathering of chakra grew. "Your future's all used up, Zabuza."

[--

"Go on." Haku prompted. "Strike. Kill me." He ordered. Naruto stood there, looking from Haku to Sakura, not moving. "Why do you hesitate?"

"Argh!" Naruto growled, backing up from Haku and Sakura. "That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard! I mean, he treats you like a slave and nothing more. You're a human being, not a weapon or a tool. How can you care about someone like that?" He demeaned to know.

"For that very reason." Haku replied.

"Huh?" The blonde slipped, confusion showing on his previously angry face.

"Does that…seem so strange to you?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. A little." Naruto answered honestly.

"When he found me, I was without a purpose or reason fro living. Zabuza gave me both." Haku told him.

"Well, what about Sakura-chan? You said you know her!" Naruto stated in almost anger at seeing how Haku reacted to seeing his female team mate.

"I do." Haku said simply.

[--

_Haku, looking like he was about ten, ran along a dirt road with a white rabbit in his arms. No longer wearing rags, Haku was dressed in green shorts that went to his knees, a blue t-shirt and black sandals. He was laughing and smiling as he tried to fond Zabuza and show him his new friend. The rabbit jumped out of his arms, though, and into a bush. Haku tried to run after it, but it was lost in the green._

_Zabuza came out from the other side of the road in the direction the rabbit had jumped, for a moment he just looked at Haku with the same cold stare he always did, but then he lifted his hand. There was the rabbit, held by it's ears. Haku laughed again and hugged the bunny. He looked up at Zabuza with wide, innocent eyes and the rogue-nin patted the boy's head._

"_Go ahead. I need to find wood fro the fire tonight." Zabuza told him._

"_Yes, sir." Haku agreed with a mock salute, but in doing so I lost hold of the bunny. Zabuza caught it quickly and handed back to Haku._

"_If you lose it again, I'm not catching it." He warned before walking into the forest. Haku smiled at his rabbit and ran further along the road._

_After running for a few minuets, he heard growling and the sounds of someone in the woods. It was a muffled scream of frustration that caught his interest, but he dared not to go in the direction of the noises. His bunny, on the other hand, proved fearless by jumping out of Haku's arms and leaping in the direction of the noise._

_Running after his bunny, fearful that the person might kill it and eat it for a snack. He stopped when he saw who was making the noise. It was a little girl, probably around eight-years-old or so. She had a traditional Haruno fighting style kimono._

_It was red and stopped just above the knees with slits up to her hips. The lining of the kimono was white and the under shorts, which went to the middle of her thighs, was both black. The sleeves of the kimono stopped at her wrists but fanned out in a small bell shape. The white obi had a black and red serpent on it while her kunai holster remained strapped her to my right leg and her shuriken pouch still sat on her left hip. She also wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves that stop at the wrist and black shinobi boots. On the back of her kimono, in the middle of her shoulder blades, was a white circle._

_The girl was a Haruno, if what Zabuza told him about the Haruno clan was accurate. She also liked Haku's bunny, since she had stopped her anger and was now petting the fluffy creature. Haku, who had never seen a girl who wasn't from his village, could only gape at the beauty. Her hair, which reached to her hips and was pulled across her shoulder in a braid, had small snowflakes decorating it._

"_I know you're there." She called, not looking away from the bunny on her lap. Haku bit his lip and stepped out of the bush, blushing when she looked up at him. Her eyes were the brightest shade of emerald he had ever seen._

"_Hi." Haku said quietly, as if she would break if he spoke too loudly._

"_Konnichiwa." The girl replied._

"_What are you doing out here alone?" He asked. She sighed and stroked a pale hand across the white fur of the rabbit._

"_Nothing. Sitting." She told him simply. Haku smiled at her vague was of answering his question. "Yourself?"_

"_I'm…walking." He retorted, using the same mysteriousness as she did._

"_Your master told you and your bunny to go ahead while he collected firewood, right?" She asked innocently. Haku was stunned._

"_Y-Yeah…how d-did you know?" Haku questioned._

"_I heard him." She smiled._

"_Are you alone?" The brunette wondered, going off topic._

"_No." The girl told him curtly._

"_Who's here with you?" Haku enquired._

"_You are. And this bunny." She giggled._

"_So no one other than me and the bunny are here with you, then." Haku clarified. The girl just nodded. "Why?"_

"_I am a broken tool, a blunted weapon, of no use to anyone. My father told me that a week ago." She whispered, but Haku heard._

"_Your father said that?" He gushed in concern. She nodded again._

"_He only liked me because I have power. He hates my brother, since onii-san likes to heal. Otou-san also tried to kill onii-san and my team mates because I almost cried. He believes that when a weapon cries, they are no longer weapons. A simple daughter is useless to him." She sighed._

"_I'm Haku." He told her, trying to get her to cheer up. She smiled, causing his breath to hitch._

"_I'm Haruno-" She was cut off when she narrowed her eyes and leapt form the log she was seated on, carrying the bunny with her. A kunai was dug into the wood she had just been seated on._

_Three men, all with red or white hair, surrounded his new 'friend' and she dropped the bunny. It ran back over to Haku and all the brunette saw was his friend get a cut across her cheek and a kunai in her arm before his vision turned black._

_He woke later, only to find Zabuza and his bunny. Zabuza told him that he had found Haku amongst three dead bodies, all men, and assumed he had killed them. Haku didn't argue with that, but deep down he knew it was the girl._

_He would find her again._

[--

"I know her from about four years ago, although it was brief. But now, my usefulness is over. The only thing that gave my life meaning is gone. I am a broken tool, a blunted weapon, of no use to anyone." He looked up at Naruto. Go on, Naruto. Do it. For both of our sakes. Do it. Quickly."

The Weapons Known As Shinobi

Inari ran, his breaths coming in short pants. He didn't stop, even when his lungs burned for an oxygen break. He knew that to stop would be to lose valuable time; time which no one had to spare. His little legs pushed. Left, right, left, right. That was his mantra.

"Sakura-nee-sama…and the others are…are out there…risking their lives while the…while the rest of us do…n…nothing." He panted. Taking one deep breath, but not halting, he sped up. "We've…we've g…gotta fight too!"

He ran and ran until he reached a small house, similar to his own but with less rooms and a different view. Once there, Inari ran up the steps, stumbling a little on the third one and having to climb it again. He gained his lost balance and stepped up to the front door, before proceeding to pound it with his fist.

"Gichi-ojii-san! Gichi-ojii-san!" Inari called through the door. "You have to hurry! Come to the bridge with me! We don't have time. He don't have to hide any longer. If we all fight together, we can finally take Gato down. I know we can!" He proclaimed.

Inari, not getting a respond, reached out for the silver handle. Closer he came to it until it was within grasping distance. However, before he could take the cold metal handle into his grasp, the door locked. He gasped and pulled back his hand, waiting for an explanation of some kind to come thought the door from his 'uncle'.

"No, Inari. I've given up fighting. Fighting is for heroes. The ones like your father. You see what good it did him? Isn't one dead hero enough? What will fighting bring us, except more fallen heroes and more regrets?" Gichi asked through the door, not wanting to open it. Inari clenched his teeth and his hands.

"But…Gichi-ojii-san-!"

"Inari, I'm sorry. My heart is already full of enough regrets…to last me a lifetime. I'm truly sorry." He apologised.

"Well, I don't want to live a life of regrets either! And…and that's why we all gotta fight! I know you care about everyone in the village, Gichi-ojii-san, and so do I! You and okaa-san and obaa-san and everyone! _That's_ why we have to fight!" The door stayed locked. "All my life, I've been a coward. But now I know that crying and running away from things we're afraid of, doesn't make them go away!"

He gave up on Gichi when no answer came. Instead, Inari turned and ran down the stairs, skipping over the third one. Running onwards to find someone, anyone, who would help him, Inari left the house behind, thinking nothing on his grandfather's fear-filled friend.

Inside the house, Gichi stood with his back to the door. He shook with guilt, but was too scared to leave. The door remained locked as he listened to the sounds of Inari's feet jumping the third step of his house and running away.

"_Hurry! Come to the bridge!"_ He heard Inari's voice echo though the streets, filling him to the top with more guilt than he could handle.

"Our little Inari has become a man." An old woman, presumably his wife, stated as she knitted. "And you, dear? Are you sure that you want to send him off, all on his own?" She asked. Gichi said nothing, but thought over what she had said, coupled with Inari's previous proclamation.

[--

"Is anyone there?" Inari called as he knocked on another door. No answer came so he moved on to the next house. "Hello? Come to the bridge with me and fight!" He said as he knocked harder. "What'll I do now?" He panted as he turned from the door. "No one will even open their doors to listen to me!

[--

"_Calling you a coward was pretty mean, I guess. Anyway, it's not true, you know." Naruto ruffled Inari's hair. "You are really brave."_

[--

'_Well then…if no one else will help.'_ Inari thought. He plastered a frown to his face as he turned and ran for the bridge. Will his legs to move at the fastest speed they could, he was silently wishing he could move as fast as his 'nee-sama' or at least be able to put chakra into his legs.

[--

Zabuza was still trapped by Kakashi's dogs, while the latter ninja stood calmly in front of him. So calmly, in fact, that no one would have guessed he was preparing a killing attack just by looking at his face.

"I won't allow you to kill Tazuna." Kakashi stated. "He's a brave man with a noble dream. The bridge he's building hold all the hope for this land and it's people. You're like a disease. By attacking one, you affect all. You don't care. That is _not_ the way of a shinobi."

"You're right." Zabuza admitted. "I _don't_ care! These useless little people and their pathetic dreams…why should they matter to me? I have a dream of my own."

"But to have a dream, you need to have a future. You don't." Kakashi said as his gathering of chakra grew. "Your future's all used up, Zabuza."

"Bring it." Zabuza dared.

[--

"Go on, finish it. Kill me." Haku ordered of the blonde ninja, who backed away from the boy, who was still holding Sakura. "Why? Why do you still hesitate? I thought you wanted to be a mighty warrior." He said softly as Naruto growled.

"That's not what it's all about! Do you really believe that's all there is to it; just fighting and killing till there's only one man left standing?" Naruto asked of the calm brunette. "There's a lot more to being a shinobi than that. And there are other ways to show your strength than by beating someone in battle."

"I've had a feeling all along. From the first moment we met, or at least when we met in the woods. We are a lot alike." Haku stated. Naruto's eyes widened at the implication. "I'm sure you know what I mean. I am only sorry that it is _your_ hand that must be tainted with my unworthy blood."

"You sure about this?" Naruto asked, eying Sakura and waiting for Haku to put her down. "And…you're positive that it's the only way?"

"Yes." Haku confirmed with a nod. Naruto clenched his hands, teeth and eyes before calming enough to speak.

"The weird thing is, that I think if we met in a different time and place, maybe we could have been friends." He stated morbidly. Naruto's eyes shot open, determined and with the full intention of killing Haku. So deep was his determination, that he forgot Haku was holding Sakura the way a husband would hold his wife after their wedding. He took a kunai and began running forwards. Everything moved slow for Haku again, as it would have for anyone about to experience death.

"Yes." Haku whispered. "That's right. Hold fast to your dreams."

"This is for Sasuke!" Naruto stated. "Because he also had a dream!" He called out and moved quickly, poising the kunai to strike Haku's heart as Haku stood there, smiling slightly as he looked down at Sakura.

'_Thank you, Naruto. Strike true and protect Sakura.'_ Haku thought as he closed his eyes and waited for his end.

[--

"At last. I think this blasted fog is lifting." Tazuna muttered as he carried on walking to where he heard Naruto a few moments before. He looked to his right and saw two figures. Both were too tall to be Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura or that kid with the mask—and he so kindly dubbed Haku—, so he assumed them to be Kakashi and Zabuza.

Kakashi ran forwards with his hand filled with blue chakra that strangely resembled lightening. He moved fast and Zabuza waited for his end to finally arrive.

[--

Naruto cry continued as Haku felt a pulse in the air and snapped open his eyes in shock. As Naruto moved the kunai forwards, Haku adjusted Sakura so that he could push the blonde's arm to the side and dodge the weapon without dropping her. Naruto gasped as Haku began lifting his arm.

"Sorry, Naruto." Haku said calmly. "Change of plan." Still holding Naruto's arm with Sakura resting in the crook of his elbow, Haku used his other hand to perform one-handed seals. Whoever said boys can't multi-task, obviously never met Haku.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Naruto yelled, struggling to get free. Haku's rapid hand signs halted in tiger and he smiled at Sakura before narrowing his eyes again and looking in the direction his master and Kakashi were fighting.

"I'm not ready to die just yet." Haku informed him. Leaving only smoke to prove he had moved at all, Haku leapt up and ran quickly in the direction of Zabuza, holding tightly to Sakura. _'I fear that if I let you go, you'll only disappear again. But I also do not want to put you in danger.'_ He thought as he gently laid her on the ground and ran again.

[--

Kakashi charged at Zabuza with his chakra-filled hand ready to thrust it in his enemy's direction to kill the one known as the rogue demon of the hidden mist village. The dogs held tightly to Zabuza, not giving him a chance to move before it was too late.

"Is this the end?" Zabuza asked as Kakashi pushed his hand though flesh.

Blood splattered across Zabuza's face and the pulse of releasing energy from the attack sent a powerful wave of air across the bridge. It caused Sakura to wake and—although she was still under some affects of the poison—she was now fully alert as to where and when she was.

The dogs vanished in a puff of smoke, one by one, but no one noticed as they looked upon the one who took the attack. Sakura's eyes filled with recognition and she suddenly felt the need to let the water in her eyes escape as they had done only three times before in her life.

A two ice mirrors, used for transportation, the summoning scroll, Kakashi's body, Zabuza's body and the ground surrounding them were all covered in the crimson red liquid that was unmistakeable blood. The blood didn't belong to Zabuza though.

Kakashi's attack had hit Haku.

The boy stood with his eyes wide and Kakashi's arm though his stomach, knowing that he couldn't survive a hit like that. No one made a sound, or even dared to breath. Kakashi and Zabuza stood with their eyes wide in shock, Sakura was frowning as unknown emotions surfaced in her chest and Tazuna looked like he was going to be sick.

As the chakra around Kakashi's had subsided, Haku's face fell forwards and he coughed up too much blood to be healthy. Then again, that hold in his chest probably isn't all that healthy to have either. Haku frowned and grabbed Kakashi's arm, pulling it out of his chest and twisting it.

"Za…bu…za.." Haku ground out in pain. Kakashi's eyes widened further as he watched the boy who was supposed to be dead twist his arm.

"So, my future is all used up, huh?" Zabuza chuckled. "Wrong again, Kakashi.

[--

"Don't be ridiculous. You are _not_ going to the bridge all by yourself, Inari-kun." Tsunami protested as she watched her only child pull on his sandals and replace his usual hat with a hard, rounded pan that he could use as a helmet if the need arose. He also had a quiver filled with arrows on his back.

"I have to go by myself, because none of the others will come with me, or even open their doors!" Inari told her, not faltering in his getting ready to leave for the bridge. "I have no choice."

"You shouldn't go at all." Tsunami stated with tears gathering in her eyes as her son got up and stamped his foot a few times so that his sandal shifted into a comfortable position on his foot. He picked up the crossbow that was sitting next to him and looked up at his mother.

"Bye, okaa-san." He bid as he walked to the door with a confident air and as powerful a stride as a ten-year-old could manage.

"Stop this." Tsunami ordered. "You're only a child. What do you think you can do?" She asked. Inari stopped, and turned slightly so he could look at her. He grinned a grin that would make Naruto proud.

"You're right. I am just a kid. But I'm a kid who knows what it means to stand and fight. I'm my father's kid." Inari told her. Tsunami gasped as her son turned and she pictured Kaiza instead. The image of her dead husband soon faded into that of her son's again.

"Kaiza." She muttered, her eyebrows pulling together in worry. Inari said nothing. He merely opened the door and took a step forwards. "No! Inari, wait!" She called.

Inari stopped, but it wasn't because his mother asking him to. He was surrounded by shadows, each holding a different weapon.

[--

Naruto looked all around him for any signs of Haku, but found none. Not up, down, left, right, in front or behind him. It almost seemed as if the boy had simply disappeared. He had not released his kunai, just in case a surprise attack was launched against him.

"Err…Where'd he go?!" Naruto yelled, not stopping his frantic search for the enemy. "Hey! Huh? The fog's lifting!" He noticed. Looking to the opposite end of the bridge to where Sasuke was, Naruto saw Sakura. "Ne, Sakura-chan!" He called as he ran in her direction. Upon arriving, he saw that she was awake and her face was void of feeling, other than a strike of pain and a tear in her eye.

"He…Haku…" Sakura mumbled, not even noticing Naruto was there. The latter looked to where she was looking.

"Huh? Is that him?" He asked, squinting to get a better look. He ran forwards, careful not to go too far from Sakura. He came to a sudden halt and gritted his teeth when he saw. "What? I don't get it! What the heck is going on here?"

"That's…the young man in the mask." Tazuna whispered to himself, not even worrying about being alone anymore.

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack." Kakashi said to Zabuza, who closed his eyes. "He saved your worthless life, at the cost of his own." He stated, just to be sure this was all real. All Zabuza did was chuckle.

"Well done, Haku." He congratulated the boy. Kakashi glared at him as Zabuza brushed off the action Haku did and reached for his sword with a roar.

'_He would hack right though the boy to take me down?'_ Kakashi asked himself in disgust.

'_I knew that I found a treasure when I found you, boy.'_ Zabuza noted with a sadistic plan of killing Kakashi through Haku. _'Not only did you give me my life, but Kakashi's as well.'_ He cheered as Kakashi tried to pull his hand from Haku's firm grip.

Zabuza ran forwards with his sword as flash memories of the time he spent with Haku ran though his mind. He cast them aside and cried out as he lunged, prepared to go though Haku to get to Kakashi. The latter, on the other hand, made no move to use Haku as a shield. He took a good hold on the boy and moved them both out of the way of Zabuza's attack.

He landed on his knees with Haku's limp form in front of him. Zabuza laughed at the display of pity and his shoulders shook. He didn't lift the swords right away, but stayed with his knees bend and his blade touching the ground in front of him.

"Not bad for having a corpse in your arms." Zabuza laughed. With his words, Sakura froze and her head shakily moved to look at Haku. She then realised that someone was missing and looked to where she had last seen Sasuke. He did not move. He did not breath. Her soul bled for the pain she would not allow in her heart.

"You'll pay for that!" Naruto yelled, getting Sakura's attention.

"No! Stay out of this, Naruto." Kakashi ordered gruffly. He placed Haku on the ground and looked at his open, dead eyes. Reaching up, Kakashi closed them with his hand and held up Haku's head with the other.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"This is my battle." Kakashi said back. "Zabuza's mine." He growled.

"Naruto!" Sakura called loudly. The boy turned to her and saw her expression. It crushed him. She was lost, confused and looked like she had just been abandoned by the world. Naruto ran over to her and knelt down before helping her to her feet. Once both were standing he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm here, Sakura-chan." He whispered. She pulled away gently and looked over at Sasuke.

"Why?" She asked.

"Why what?" Naruto questioned her back.

"Why isn't Sasuke moving? H-He should be…in-insulting y-you…yelling at Za-Zabuza and…and gl-gloating…and…b-breathing." She stuttered. "Why isn't he, Naruto?"

Naruto looked away from her and clenched his fists. He knew that this was new to Sakura. She had most likely seen death before, and even caused it herself, but she had probably never been affected by it. At least, he didn't think she had. This was probably something so strange and unusual to her.

"Sakura…" Kakashi whispered, seeing her ghostly-pale face. Not only was the poison probably still in effect, but he also believed that she had never experienced loss like losing a team mate…or friend.

"Kakashi!" Zabuza barked. "I'd stay focused if I were you." He warned, leaping across to the copy ninja with his swords in a position to slice off Kakashi's head. Kakashi just flipped onto his feet and kicked Zabuza away from him.

"I need to get to her." Tazuna muttered. "Naruto probably has no idea how to deal with this…but I know. I had to help Inari through almost the same thing and…I owe her my life." He stated, running across to Sakura and Naruto when he deemed it safe enough for him to go without getting killed in the process.

He moved quickly passed Naruto, not even sparing him a glance, and stopped when he reached the frozen girl. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he jerked her out of her daze and she looked at him with confusion. He almost wanted to run from her. The innocent look in her eye and the child-like confusion about death was unbearable when you knew who she was before. Even the ice-cube Sakura was better than this one. She was broken. She was scared.

"Tazuna-san? When will Sasuke come back?" She asked curiously. Tazuna sighed and closed his eyes.

"He…he won't." The bridge-builder said grimly. Sakura looked down and nodded as a shadow was cast over her face. When she looked back up, the innocent child was gone, but she wasn't the old Sakura either.

"I'm going to see him." He muttered. Tazuna nodded and ran with her to go and see Sasuke. Naruto didn't move, but he listened to their conversation. His eyes were closed as he ran through the few memories of his team mate he had.

"Sasuke." He murmured.

When Sakura got to Sasuke's body, it was white, covered in senbon and scratches and the blood that used to run though his veins had dried where they once leaked. She blinked and knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his forehead and another on his chest. For reasons unknown to Tazuna, Sakura smiled at her deceased team mate.

"He's cold." Sakura said airily with an almost laughing tone. "This isn't just one of his genjutsu tricks, is it, Tazuna-san?" She asked.

"Go on. You don't need to be brave on my account. I've seen you cry and I think not is a perfectly acceptable time to be a baby about things." He told her with an attempt at a joke. Although he didn't really expect a laugh, Sakura did give him a choked stream of laughter that sounded more like covered sobs.

"I…I was the best." She said in a perfectly calm tone. "Aced every test at the academy, both in Konoha and Yukigakure. Many said I was the perfect student because of my strength too. Never had I shown too much emotion in my life, but everyone said I showed too little."

"Hm?" Tazuna grunted softly, wondering why she was letting him know anything about her.

"Tsuki…he's like Naruto. Both full of energy. Both complete bakas at times and I guess whenever Naruto screwed up, I got mad at him because it was like he was soiling Tsuki's good name. Taiyoo was Tsuki's twin brother and a bit like Sasuke. He didn't talk much, but when he did it was always a riddle or an out-of-place question. He could make me laugh, but not as much as Tsuki did." Sakura let out a dry sob.

"Go on. Let it all out." Tazuna prompted.

"Kakashi-sensei…he's like Juhi-nii-san. They both watch over me and I hate it sometimes, but I'm glad they do. I never meant to hurt Tsuki, or Taiyoo, or Juhi-nii-san. After what happened…I couldn't stay. No one cared what I did, but I just had to leave. I met Haku-kun on my way, about four month after I left. Some of my relatives came after me, but I killed them. They hated my for what I did, but they told me that everyone else loved me for it." She stopped and let out a humourless sob.

"What did you do?" Tazuna wondered, genuinely curious.

"I…I killed my father." She said darkly.

[--

"_I…I…" She stuttered. "I'LL KILL YOU!" The girl charged, but her anger clouded her skills. Her father easily pushed her back._

"_You're not fighting well enough. Perhaps they don't mean as much to you as you pretend they do." Her father mocked. "You can't kill me! I'm your father! I created you!"_

"_You may have created me…but you are __**not**__ my father!" Sakura yelled as she let go. Thousands of Sakuras surrounded him._

"_This…this is impossible! No one can reach this level of the Kanjoo jiyuu! I will not accept this!" He cried._

"_Accept it or not, I have done the impossible. I have split into every emotion possible. Even those small, flittering ones that no one realises are even there! I will kill you!" Sakura promised._

"_I am your father!" He raged back, as if that would change the situation._

"_No! Fathers protect you!" She yelled as all of her emotions began hurling senbon at him. "Fathers raise you!" The senbon were replaced by kunai and shuriken, which were less effective but hurt more. "I was protected and raised by Juhi-nii-san, Taiyoo and Tsuki! You're just some man who I've known for a long time. In fact, it's about time our bond was severed, as well as your neck!" She screamed._

_The emotions were banished in the regions of her mind and Sakura was surrounded by a green, glowing chakra. Her eyes lost the pupils and the , becoming only bright green to match the chakra. She gritted her teeth and looked at the man she called father. Her green chakra exploded from her body, ripping though her father's arms and legs. It also healed all wounds on Juhi and Taiyoo and revived Tsuki. Once that was done, Sakura reached into her pouch and drew a senbon covered in so much poison that the purple liquid was dripping off of it._

"_This is special, otou-san. I made it just for you." She whispered gleefully as she threw the senbon at her father. He fell to the ground. "You'll experience pain unlike any other until you die, father. However, that poison is so strong that you die in about…well, now." She told him._

_Just as Sakura predicted, her father tensed up and his breathing stopped for good. The greed chakra sank back into her body and he fell to her knees, panting from exhaustion. Taiyoo and Juhi were released when the red-haired men ran from the room and the two, accompanied by a limping and tired Tsuki, walked to Sakura._

"_Thank you, Sakura-chan." Taiyoo whispered, holding her left hand._

"_You saved us, imouto." Juhi said in the same way, taking her other hand as well. Both let go and help her to her feet, but she wasn't standing for long. Tsuki literally lifted her off of her feet with his hug, which was quite a feat since he was a few centimetres shorter than her._

"_I can't stay here." Sakura told them. "I'm leaving."_

"_When?" Juhi asked, stopping the twins' mouths before either could protest. He had a feeling that Sakura wouldn't with to stay once she reached her full potential._

"_Now." She breathed. Tsuki and Taiyoo looked at each other and nodded._

"_We were going to give you this for your birthday…" Taiyoo started._

"…_but we should probably give it to you now." Tsuki said._

"_Here." They offered in union as they both held up a ribbon, each end held by a different twin. It was black as night and made of the finest silk, of which was only made by hand in the Hoshi district. Sakura smiled and took the ribbon._

"_Remember me, Sakura." Juhi said, giving her his black, fingerless gloves that he used for healing. Sakura hugged all of them and kissed Tsuki on the cheek when no one was looking. She smiled once more and jumped out of the window behind her._

_Sakura and the three boys didn't meet since._

[--

"I studied harder than ever before. I wanted to heal, just like my brother did. But, I always got side-tacked by the shinobi laws. They were never taught in Yukigakure, since all they taught us was to kill or be killed. The law I knew best was…the twenty fifth." She nodded. "I always followed that one perfectly before I met Hinata, and even then I followed it for the most part. But then I met Naruto…and I started to show so many new emotions. It was so confusing. I always wanted to keep me emotions inside so that I would never use the form of Kanjoo jiyuu that brought out ever little feeling. That baka…he made me human."

"You weren't human before?" Tazuna asked. Sakura shook her head in the negative and brushed Sasuke's bangs from his face.

"No." She sighed. "I followed the basic traditions linked with humanity. I ate, I drank, I slept, and I even had contact with the world. However, I was always uncomfortable with physical touch. I couldn't be too close to someone or I would feel ill. Everyone feared me…because I could follow the twenty fifth law better than anyone."

"What's that?" He enquired.

"A true shinobi or kunoichi never shows his or her feelings, no matter what the circumstances may be. Feelings are a weakness that will only cloud his or her judgement and weaken his sense of duty." Tazuna heard her hiccup and the hand on Sasuke's chest gripped tightly to his shirt. "I always followed that law. In my life, I have only cried a total of four times, but…it's about to be five." She warned as she slowly placed her forehead on Sasuke's chest and her shoulders shook from her silent sobs.

'_To put such an unbearable burden on a young girl's shoulder…if that's the shinobi way, it should be destroyed.'_ Tazuna thought as he watched the usually emotionless girl bare her soul through tears. _'If this can affect a girl like Sakura so much…'_

Naruto stood, listening to Sakura's story. He didn't know what to think of her past, but he knew even less about how he should comfort her. It was cruel of him to think it, but he half blamed Sakura for Sasuke's death. If she were there with them instead of leaving a useless clone, she could have helped. Sasuke might have been alive. Of course, he banished those thoughts right away. If it was Sakura's fault, then it was his too.

He clenched his eyes and gripped his chest, just over his heart, as his shoulders shook.

[--

Kakashi and Zabuza parried another blow and landed on the ground a few feet apart. While Kakashi remained standing, Zabuza fell to his knees and panted heavily. He stared at Kakashi in wonder and a bit of amazement was mixed into his gaze as he looked at the unaffected man before him.

'_Why?'_ He asked himself. _'Why can't I keep up with him?'_

Not wasting time to ponder this, Zabuza hauled up his sword again and ran towards Kakashi. Although his movements were still fast, they were much slower than before. All Kakashi had to do was quickly lift a well aimed fist and he knocked Zabuza to the side. Other than his arm, Kakashi remained still.

The silver-haired ninja spun and swung his arm around, hitting Zabuza right in the face. Zabuza stumbled back, his right had gripping his sword while his left hand hung limply at his side. The bit from Kakashi's dog had damaged it too badly for him to use it again in that battle.

"I'll split you in half!" Zabuza call out in a roar, running at Kakashi with blind fury coursing through his veins. He swung his blade once and then lifted it up and threw it down, only to have both attacks dodged easily by Kakashi, who then leapt up in the air and reappeared behind the sword-wielding man. He held the back of Zabuza's neck, as if to prove how easily he could break it.

"Look at you." Kakashi jeered. "You're falling apart." He mocked coldly with none of the usual humour in his voice. "I knew that you did have what it takes for the long haul."

"What did you say?!" Zabuza growled out in frustration.

"You have no idea what real strength is." Kakashi said slowly, as if talking to a five-year-old. All Zabuza did was breath heavily, not uttering a word in his own defence. Kakashi spun two kunai in his hand and grasped them tightly. "Game over. You lose."

He pushed the kunai forwards, not letting either go. Zabuza turned and saw the kunai coming, so he twisted to avoid them, using his heavy sword as a lever for sorts to turn him since his body couldn't do it alone. Kakashi noticed this and planted the kunai in his sword-holding arm, just above the elbow, and dodged out of the way. Only thinking on the pain of the kunai, Zabuza didn't release his sword in time and his arm broke at the elbow, causing his sword to slid away from him.

"Now both of your arms are useless." Kakashi observed. "What are you going to do? You can't even make hand signs."

"Gah." Zabuza grunted as he tried to move his broken arm. He didn't get to answer, though, as someone else made their presence known by stepping heavily and tapping a cane on the ground.

"Well, well, well." The new-comer began. "He did quite a number on you, didn't he Zabuza? You look like yesterday's sashimi. I must say that I'm rather…disappointed." He said. This man was the same as the one from the hut, and the one on the phone. Gato. Behind him was a large group of men, all carrying swords, kunai or baring their fists for a fight.

The Demon in the Snow

"Gato." Zabuza acknowledged. "I don't understand. What is all this? Why are you here, and who are these thugs you've brought with you?" He asked.

"Well, you see, there's been a slight change in plans." Gato informed him, tapping his cane on the ground. "According to the new plan, you die right here on this bridge, Zabuza."

"What?" Zabuza asked breathily. His eyes widened a fraction from the new, but other than they he seemed unaffected.

"That's right. You're too expensive, so I've decided to take you off of the pay roll. Of course, even these _thugs_ cost something, so if you could slaughter a few of them before I take you down, I'd appreciate it." Gato stated coldly. "Think you can manage that, demon ninja of the mist?" He wondered mockingly. "Haha, look at ya. You look about as demonic as a wet kitten." He laughed as the others behind him join the laughter.

'_There are so many of them. One rogue ninja was bad enough.'_ Naruto thought to himself in worry.

"Well, well, Kakashi. It would seem as if our fight was at an end. Since I am no longer Gato's employee, Tazuna is safe. We have no quarrel." The mist-nin stated.

"Yeah. I suppose you're right." Kakashi agreed. Gato stepped forwards and stood above Haku's lifeless body.

"That reminds me, you little punk." He said to the dead teen. "You grabbed me before and nearly broke my arm." As he said this, he indicated to the cast-covered arm resting on his cane. "I've been meaning to repay you for that." He kicked Haku's body, right in his stomach before nudging his face with the cane. "Ha, I only wish he were alive to feel it."

"GET _AWAY_!" Naruto and Sakura—who looked over when Gato arrived—screamed in union. The blonde was the first to move as he ran forwards, but Kakashi caught the back of his jacket and held him in place.

"Hey, stop. Use your head." Kakashi ordered, letting go when Naruto was calm enough to think.

"Well, what about you, Zabuza?" Naruto asked the silent mist ninja. "You gonna let him do that?"

"Be quiet, you fool." Zabuza snapped calmly. "Haku's dead. What does it matter?"

"What? You mean that you can just stand there and watch him get treated like an old doll no one wants anymore? You and Haku were together for years! Doesn't that mean anything?" Naruto asked him angrily, shaking his fists in the air.

"I merely used him, just as Gato used me." Zabuza told him. "Now it's over. His usefulness is at an end. The loss of his strength and skill, yes, that means something to me. But the boy? Nothing."

"Of you mean that, then you're a bigger rat than I thought." Naruto stated, glaring at the older man.

"You don't understand the way of a shinobi, brat." Zabuza accused.

"Sakura-chan does." Naruto retorted.

"So?" Zabuza asked, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"Sakura-chan knows the shinobi code better than anyone from our graduating class. She followed every rule perfectly, down to the last punctuation mark, most of the time." Naruto said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Zabuza sneered.

"You knew Haku for years. Haku and Sakura-chan knew each other for barely over five minuets as far as I know. And yet, she yelled out and is willing to risk anything, just to get Gato to get away from Haku." Naruto told him, gesturing to the pinkette. She was currently being held back by and spoken to by Tazuna to keep her from trying to kill Gato.

"_GET __**AWAY**__!"_

Zabuza narrowed his eyes as he remembered that she had ordered a man who could have her killed to get away from someone she barely even knew.

"Alright, that's enough." Kakashi cut in. "Calm down, Naruto. He's not the enemy. Not right now, at least." He stated. Naruto swung his fist at Kakashi, causing the man to release the blonde.

"Grrrrr! Shut up! As far as I'm concerned, he's enemy number one!" The blonde declared, pointing an accusing finger at Zabuza. "You…you ungrateful basterd…after everything he did for you…" Naruto panted. "I remember what he…told me. Haku lived for you!"

[--

"_Is there…someone who's precious to you?" Haku questioned._

[--

"You were the most important person in the world to him!" He continued, pointing towards Haku. "And he meant nothing to you? Nothing at all?"

[--

"_It was not my desire to be a shinobi. It's painful." Haku told them with a small crack of a choked sob in his voice._

[--

"While he was sacrificing everything for you…you never felt anything at all for him?!" Naruto tried in desperation for an answer. "And if I become stronger, does that mean that I'll become as cold-hearted as you are?! I don't want to think of Sakura-chan and Sasuke as tools to be disposed of, and I won't! Haku threw his life away…and for what?" He began to cry, thinking of what Haku did for Zabuza. "For your dream! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care. And you just toss him aside, like he was nothing! A broken tool…man, that's so wrong." The tears that prickled at his eyes were now streaming down his face.

"You talk too much." Zabuza stated simply, as if nothing Naruto said was of importance. Naruto saw, though. He saw the droplets Zabuza's tear made on the ground in front of the taller man. "Your words cut deep. Deeper than any blade. While he fought you, his heart was breaking in two. You see, Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow and now—curse him—I feel them too. And something else. I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza stopped talking and used his sharp teeth to rip the bandages away from his mouth.

"Huh? What's happening?" Gato asked in confusion.

"Well? Cat got your tongue?" Zabuza taunted Naruto though his now uncovered mouth. "Are you really so surprised to discover that I'm human? Even shinobi are human. No matter how hard we try to escape that simple fact, we always fail. Well, at least…I have failed." He stated with a smile. The smile only lasted for a second, though. "Boy!"

"Yes? What?" Naruto asked, realising that Zabuza meant him.

"Lend me your kunai." He demanded, leaving little room for arguments from the younger ninja. Naruto looked down for a second before reaching into his pouch and pulling out a sharpened kunai.

"Here." He offered, throwing it lightly in Zabuza's direction. As the kunai flipped in the air towards him, Zabuza's mind went though all the memories he had with Haku in order from when he found him, watching him grow up until the present Haku was smiling in his mind. He caught the kunai in his mouth and glared viciously at Gato. Wasting no time, he sprung forwards at a godly speed.

"Ah!" Gato screamed. "That's it! I've had enough of this!" He yelled, running into the mob of hired thugs for safety. "Take him down, now!"

Said thugs cheered their agreement and willingness to fight the fallen demon, not knowing what they were getting into. Never stopping, Zabuza ran though the mob of fighters, cutting down the ones who stood in his way of the coward, Gato. Blood flew as he leapt over one man and sliced though another. People called out for help or cried in pain, but it all fell on deaf ears.

One man, who was rather large with twin swords, managed to slow Zabuza down by two swings before he was in halves on the ground, leaving Zabuza for the others to try and contain. With grace, Zabuza swung his body and killed three more men before he got a sharpened spear in his back. He opened his mouth and gasped for breath, but didn't drop the kunai. The man who stabbed him was torn down quickly and Zabuza carried on, even with the wound in his back.

Gato had managed to flee to the edge of the unfinished bridge and was confident in his survival for the split second between him turning around and Zabuza breaking though the mob of thugs. He gasped and called out in sudden panic, but no one helped him. Zabuza ran, steady and true, towards Gato with the intention to kill.

"He…He's the d-d-d-devil!" Gato cried out in fear as he envisioned Zabuza to be the ruler of hell himself and not just a lackey, a mere demon.

Not paying his words any heed, Zabuza leapt right forwards and pushed the kunai into Gato's chest. Gato groaned, but he wasn't in as much pain as Zabuza was when the remaining thugs all shoved their weapons into his back at once. He dropped his kunai and stumbled away from Gato, breathing just as heavily as the suit-wearing man.

"You crazy fool." Gato panted. "If you're so eager to join your friend, go ahead. But just not taking me. Not this time."

"Uh-uh. I won't be joining Haku. Where he's gone I cannot follow." He stood as straight as he could and moved towards Gato, who moved back in return.

"Stay back! S-Stay back!" Gato commanded, taking a step away from Zabuza for every step Zabuza took towards him.

"No, my friend." Zabuza grinned, putting his face right up against Gato's with a crazy glint in his eye. "It's the other place we're going to. You and me both, Gato." He growled as Gato whimpered in fear. "I can't think of a better location fro a demon ninja, can you? I'm told that there are many demons down there, of all shapes and sizes. Oh yes, I should fit right in down there. _You_, on the other hand, Gato…well, I fear you are in for a very long and painful eternity!" Zabuza cried.

"I-I'm n-no-not afraid of y-yo-you!" Gato stuttered as Zabuza laughed manically.

"You might not be, even though that's hard to believe. Now, I don't give compliments very often, but I have to tell you this." He leaned in, as if telling a secret. "That girl, the one with the pink hair, you see? She'll be joining us when her time comes too. Heh, she and Haku were close. How close is something I don't know, but they were. She'd probably be the most feared ninja the world had ever known if she turned against her village and became a rogue-nin. You never know when she'll come, Gato, but you have a never-ending amount of time to find out!"

With that final roar, Zabuza reach behind him and used his mouth to rip out one of the kunai from his back. He slashed once at Gato's chest, once at his arm and a final time at his shoulder. Then he twisted around and slashed his back. Moving again, Zabuza sliced growled and became the demon everyone fear. With one final, powerful strike, Zabuza sent Gato into the ocean, begging for oxygen and on a one way trip to hell.

Zabuza looked at the thugs and they were scared instantly. They parted so that he could move passed them without needing to kill any more of them or their comrades. Taking the invitation to pass, Zabuza dropped the kunai from his mouth and stumbled forwards to Haku's limp body. His vision blurred and he fell to his knees, but no one helped him.

"Haku…" He groaned in pain, wanting to be next to the young boy he took into his care before he died. He looked up and saw an angel, only it was Haku in his pink kimono. "So this is…goodbye…at last." He managed to say though the pain and exhaustion that overtook his body. "Not once did I ever thank you, Haku…forgive me for that." He asked as he fell forwards onto his face.

"Don't turn away." Kakashi ordered as Naruto looked away from Zabuza's dead body. "When you live like a warrior, this is how it ends."

Sakura looked at Zabuza for the respected minuet before turning back to Sasuke. A few last tears dropped onto his cheek. She rested her head on his chest and kneeled lower so that her own chest was just brushing his, closing her eyes to pray for those who died that day. Her shoulders continued to shake, but her sobs were still silent.

'_Wh-Where am I?'_ Sasuke asked himself as he looked up to see skies of bright blue. _'Am I alive? Or…Sakura? Can it be?'_ He lowered his eyes, seeing a head of pink hair sobbing into his chest. _'It is! But…is she crying?'_

"Sasuke." He heard her whisper in a sob.

"Sakura…it's hard to breath with you on top of me." He panted, hearing the crying suddenly stop. _'It was her…but why did I say something so stupid?'_ He saw her head lift, a few spare drops of water drop from her eyes and onto his shirt. '_She looks beautiful, even when crying.'_

"S…Sasuke? You…You're alive?!" She cried out, smiling a brilliant smile that he had never seen before. His pain was still there, but something about Sakura's smile made everything feel alright again. However, as soon as it came, it was gone again. She scooped up his head from his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Ow! Sakura, that hurts!" Sasuke complained.

"I don't care! You have me worried, baka! The least you can do is endure a little pain until I can get this hug out of my system." She yelled back, not letting go, but loosening her grip a little.

As soon as she let go, Sasuke tried to stand. Now, this is where someone would have told him to stay laying down or to move as little as possible, but Sakura wasn't the type to say that. Instead, she lifted his arm across her shoulders and helped him up. They gathered their balance and walked forwards a little.

"Sakura." Sasuke called.

"Hm?" Sakura answered, looking forwards with a frown.

"Arigatoo." He whispered so that only she could hear it. Sakura had no idea why he was thanking her, but thought that he was probably delusional from almost dying. She herself was still a bit off from the poison, but it wasn't all that bad anymore.

"If you feel a lot of pain, tell me." Sakura ordered.

"I will. But…where's Naruto? And that guy in the mask?" Sasuke asked the pinkette.

"Naruto's fine. But Haku—the guy in the mask—, he's dead." She said softly, looking at her old friend's fallen body.

"Dead?" Sasuke repeated. "But how? Did…Naruto do it?"

"Well…partly. Naruto beat him up, but Kakashi-sensei finished him." She informed the curious boy. "He was protecting Zabuza."

"Oh…I see." Sasuke looked up at her. "What did you do?" He asked. When Sakura's cheeks tinted pink—something he never thought he would see, even in his wildest dreams—he was even more curious.

"Just…a bit of remembering. I wasn't really important." She muttered, but he could tell she was holding out.

"Nothing important?! You saved my life!" Tazuna yelled, gesturing to the large wound Sakura had. It was from where Zabuza had ripped through her shoulder and almost taken her arm with his blade.

"Oh yeah. My bad." She smirked, covering her shoulder. Sasuke knew what she was doing, though. Sakura wasn't the type of person who liked having others worry about her, so she covered up her pain with sarcastic and quick comments.

"What do you mean 'my bad'?!" Tazuna fumed.

"I saved the cry-baby." She mocked.

"You cried more than me! and all over this little twerp here!" Tazuna stated, gesturing to Sasuke. "You know, when you weren't crying over that Haku boy."

"Hey! I only cried once!" She snapped.

"That's because you didn't stop between mourning Haku and mourning Sasuke!" He replied.

"You cried for me?" Sasuke asked her in disbelief.

"Shut up! Both of you!" She ordered, although her pink cheeks said it all.

"Che." Sasuke smirked. Sakura glared at him and raised her hand to her mouth.

"Naruto! It's Sasuke! He's alright!" Sakura called to the blonde. Naruto turned to look at his once-dead team mate in shock as Sasuke frowned slightly.

'_It's always about Naruto. Even when I almost died, she can only think of Naruto in the long run.'_ Sasuke groaned mentally. He looked away from everyone, to the ground, and lifted his hand as if he were greeting Naruto instead of saying 'I'm not dead'.

Naruto's expression of shock turned into disbelief and then into joy as he looked at Sasuke. He then looked at Haku, who had supposedly killed his Uchiha team mate earlier, in the ice dome.

'_I see.'_ The thought in realisation.

"Well, well. Will wonders never cease?" Kakashi mused as if his student didn't just cheat death. "Amazing."

"Hey! Yoo-hoo!" One of the thugs called to the ninja. "Don't go getting too comfortable."

"This party ain't over yet." Another stated. "Who's gonna pay us now that Gato's gone?"

"No way we're gonna leave here empty handed. So, we're just gonna have to hit that village and see what they've got for us."

"Not good." Kakashi muttered.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei, you must have a jutsu that can take care of this bunch of losers." Naruto prompted.

"Not right now." Kakashi replied grimly. "I used too much of my chakra."

"Let's get 'em boys!" A thug called as the others cheered and moved forwards. Before the thugs could even take three steps, an arrow landed in their paths, lodged into the bridge. They looked to where is came from and Inari stood, proud and tall, with a crossbow in his hands and every able-bodied man and woman in the village behind him.

"There's one thing you're forgetting about." Gichi called from behind Inari, next to Tsunami. "Before you enter our village, you'll have to go through us. Every last one of us." He told the thugs. Everyone from the village cheered in agreement and lifted their weapons high.

"Inari!" Naruto called out the boy.

"Inari-chan." Sakura smirked. "I knew he wasn't a coward."

"Heroes usually show up at the last minuet, you know?" Inari laughed, stealing Naruto's line.

"They've all come…the whole village." Tazuna said to himself in joy. The thugs looked nervous, seeing how many people were gathered to fight them.

"Heh, no way I'm missing out on all the fun! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" The blonde boy called, using his signature jutsu. One Naruto became five and the thugs backed up a bit.

"Don't think that I'm letting you fight while I tend to Mr 'I'm dead but I'm not', Uzumaki Naruto!" Sakura warned as she split into grey eyes, red eyes and orange eyes.

"We're fighting too!" The three said together. By now, the thugs were so far back, they were practically drowning in the water behind them.

"I might have just enough chakra to help to two out." Kakashi stated, looking at Naruto with his Sharingan. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" He called, becoming thousands of Kakashis. "Kakashi-style!" They all said.

"Okay, still want to fight?" The Kakashi clones, the Naruto clones and the three Sakura all asked together.

"No thanks!" A few of the thugs called as they all ran to the small boat they were carried to the bridge on.

"Victory!" Inari called, setting off a wave of cheers and laughs behind him as the villagers watched Gato's men flee. Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi all dispelled their jutsu and walked in different directions. Naruto stayed where he was, Sakura walked back to help support Sasuke and Kakashi walked to the 'dead' Zabuza.

"Sounds like it's over, huh?" Zabuza croaked, still half way between life and death.

"Yeah." Kakashi answered shortly.

"Kakashi…I have a favour to ask of you." Zabuza told him.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"Take me to him." He requested. "Before I go, I need to see him one last time." Zabuza elaborated. Kakashi sighed and pulled his Hatei-ate back over his Sharingan eye. He then looked down at Zabuza with sympathy.

"Sure." He assured him. Everyone watched as Kakashi took all of the weapons out of Zabuza's back and picked him up. He then began the short journey to Haku's fallen form, just as promised. The snow began to fall over the bridge, giving the battle-worn stone a blanket of relief. It caused much question amongst the people.

"Huh?"

"Impossible."

"Snowing at this time of year?"

'_Is it you, Haku? Are you weeping?'_ Zabuza asked the sky. He turned to look at the pinkette slightly. _'Or are you helping a friend to shed more tears of her own?'_ He added, mentally smiling. _'You always were too soft.'_

Kakashi reached Haku's body and knelt down so that he could gently place Zabuza in his rightful place next to Haku. Once the deed was done, Zabuza thanked him and the Jounin walked away to give Zabuza privacy to show the feelings he preferred to hide. Zabuza turned his head to look at his charge, Haku.

"You were always at my side. The least I can do…is to be beside _you_ at the end." He struggled to move his hand, but still managed to reach up to touch Haku's angelic face. "I know it cannot be, but…I wish I could go to where you have gone. How I wish I could…join you there. H-Haku…" He said in his dying breath.

Zabuza passed and the sun shone through the clouds, melting a snowflake in Haku's eye so it looked at is he were crying. They landed in Sakura's hair as she swallowed her sadness rather than her pride and Sasuke noticed it, so he held around her shoulders tighter as if to give her reassurance in the only way he knew how.

"He told me…that where he came from…it was always snowing." Naruto said though his tears. "All the time."

"Of course. His spirit was as pure as the snow." Kakashi stated. "You never know, Zabuza. Maybe you _will_ join him there. Who's to say?"

[--

"That's it…isn't it?" Sakura—now in her usual attire—asked as she crouched in front of Haku's grave, placing down snowdrop flowers with a small smile.

"Hm?" Kakashi acknowledged as he placed Zabuza's sword up against the older nin's grave.

"That's the ninja way. To use and be used by people as weapons and tools." She nodded, kissing her hand and placing it on the wooden cross before standing up and looking towards her team.

"Shinobi are _all_ tools in the hands of destiny. No point in wondering whether it's right or wrong…it just is. It's the same anywhere you go or look." Kakashi told her.

"Well, if you ask me, if that's what being a ninja is all about, something's out of whack." Naruto stated confidently. "Is that why we go through all this training? Just to end up like Haku and Zabuza?"

"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke asked in agreement.

"Well," Kakashi sighed. "It's a question without an answer, and that is something we ninja have to deal with every day of our lives. Like Zabuza, and Haku."

"Okay!" Naruto decided. "I've just come to a decision. From now on, I'm finding my own ninja way. A way that's straight and true and without any regrets. From now on, I'm following the way of Naruto!" He declared.

"Err, Naru-"

"Just let him believe what he wants, sensei." Sakura cut in. "I saves everyone a headache when he tries to argue." She sighed. Sasuke nodded in silent agreement. "Come on! Tsunami still has the rest of my clothes and I need to pack." Sakura ordered, heading to Tazuna's hut.

[--

"Please?" Inari asked again.

"No, Inari, for the last time! You've been asking me this since the battle on the bridge two months ago! I don't want you causing Sakura any trouble, so don't even think of asking her." Tsunami warned her son. Inari pouted but brightened up when Sakura came downstairs. She wore her usual coat and trousers with her hair down.

"Sakura-nee-sama!" He called with a wide grin and a hope of the answer 'yes'.

"What is it?" She asked, shouldering her black backpack.

"Can I-?" He was cut off when Tsunami placed a hand over his mouth.

"It's nothing, Sakura. Have a safe trip and-ow!" She called out when Inari bit her palm.

"Can I go back to live in Konoha with you?" Inari asked quickly before anyone could stop him. Sakura blinked once, then twice and sighed.

"No." She said in a deadpan voice. Inari fell to the ground, but quickly got back up and proceeded in asking her over and over again.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No_."

"Please?"

"_No!_"

"Please?"

"**No!**"

"Please?"

"_**No!**_"

"…Please?"

"Inari! Why do you want to come and live with me so badly?" Sakura asked, getting annoyed at the constant questioning. Inari grinned and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"You're like my aneki, and I don't want to see you go." Inari told her with a kicked-puppy look. _'I also want to keep Naruto and Sasuke as far away from you a possible until I'm old enough for you to see me as boyfriend material!'_

"Well…I _do_ have the room…and it gets kina lonely sometimes…so…I guess that you could…" She considered. "If it's okay with Tsunami and Tazuna-san, then I can take you to Konoha with me. Whether or not the Hokage will let me look after you is another story."

"YES!" Inari cheered. "…But why wouldn't your Hokage let you?" He then added as an after thought.

"I'm twelve, Inari-chan. Legally, I'm a minor. You're legally a minor. A minor can't take care of another minor. Until I turn at least sixteen, the Hokage is the only one who can say whether or not I'm trustworthy enough to take care of you." She explained as simply as she could.

"What would happen in he says no?" Inari asked. Sakura sighed and ran a hand though her long hair, which was now out of the style Tsunami did for her.

"I could get Kakashi to take you in until I could get you back here." She shrugged, thinking of all the other possibilities and deciding that one to be the best.

"Okay!" Inari cheered again. "I might live with Sakura-nee-sama! Okaa-chan! She said yes! I told you!" He yelled, running to his mother.

"Well then, get packed up quickly! They're leaving soon! Pack plenty of clean underwear! Write every day! Don't put that in there! No! Yes! Inari, you need to put in shirts _before_ shoes! Do you want a bigger bag?" The young kunoichi heard Tsunami say from upstairs. She laughed a little.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as he and Naruto walked into the room, looking at Sakura.

"Inari-chan is coming with us. He's going to be my new housemate." She replied calmly.

"Oh." Naruto grinned. "Wait…WHAT?!" He yelled, running forwards.

Naruto tripped over his own feet and landed right on Sakura. Except, he wasn't on just Sakura. He was mere millimetres above her lips. Or, to be more precise, his lips were. Still don't get it? Let me make it clearer…

NARUTO AND SAKURA ARE PRACTICALLY KISSING!

Get it now?

Sasuke was pissed. He marched forwards and pulled Naruto off of Sakura, who stayed down with her mouth open in shock. Naruto, for his part, was in shock too, only he was on his feet. Sasuke just looked between the two, hitting himself mentally for not trying to stop Naruto's fall.

"I…I-I…umm." Sakura stuttered, gradually turning red.

"Yeah…I have to…um…g-go and pack…you know, for the trip home. I mean, we're not stay h-here forever an-and…bye." Naruto said, tripping over his words and running off to his temporary room to avoid the awkward air that was floating between him and Sakura.

"Here." Sasuke grunted, offering Sakura his hand. She took it slowly and he help her to her feet, before he left to go and hit some sense into Naruto.

"Onee-sama!" Inari called as he jumped down the stairs. "I'm all packed and ready to go!" He grinned. Sakura smirked and lifted him onto her shoulders, holding his suitcase in her hand. He laughed and they stepped out of the front door together, in the direction of the completed bridge.

[--

Standing in front of the entrance to the newly completed bridge were the ninja of Konoha who helped path the way for the bridge to be completed without further troubles. Kakashi was standing on the far left, smiling lazily at the villagers. Naruto was to his right, grinning away and rubbing the back of his head. Next to Naruto was Sakura, who had a small smile in her eyes and a cheerful Inari on her shoulders. Last, but not least, was Sasuke, who looked like he couldn't wait to get back to Konoha.

"We could never have finished the bridge without you." Tazuna stated as he spoke for all of the people present who wished to thank the ninja. "I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you, and you too my adorable little grandson!"

"Grandpa! You're embarrassing me!" Inari whined from on Sakura's shoulders. Sakura laughed lightly.

"Do be careful, and remember to change your underwear everyday, Inari." Tsunami reminded him.

"Okaa-chan!" Inari complained, trying to hide his blush in his hat.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Sakura assured them.

'_**I'm just thankful that we remembered to clean before we left!'**_ Inner sighed in relief.

"Thank you for everything." Kakashi said with a wave of his hand and a tilt of his head.

"Now, now. Don't get all choked up. We'll come back and visit as soon as we possibly can." Naruto promised. "And possibly drop off the brat when we come back too." He muttered, hoping no one heard. All of the ninja bid a final goodbye and turned to head back to their home in the village hidden in the leaves.

"It was all their doing. Thanks to Sakura and Naruto, we were able to stand up for what we believe and finish our bridge to a place we'd never known. A place where we found our courage, and our dreams." Tazuna said as a way of remembrance to the two ninja.

"Say, speaking of the bridge." One man call out. "Now that it's finished, er, shouldn't we name it?"

"Yes." Tazuna agreed. "Of course. Heh. And I know just the name for it as well."

"You do?" Another man questioned. "What?"

"We'll call it; 'The Great NaruSaku Bridge'. That sounds good." He nodded.

"Well, it should really be the name of a ship, but a bridge is bigger and so much better to spread the name of champions." Tsunami nodded and agreement.

"Haha!" Naruto laughed from on the bridge. "As soon as we get back, I'm going to let Iruka-sensei fix me up a whole mess of ramen to celebrate a mission accomplished. Oh! And just wait till I tell Konohamaru about all of my adventures!"

"Kono-who-what?" Inari asked in confusion.

"Konohamaru, Inari-chan. He's the grandson of our Hokage and a big pain in the butt. He's nine, so only a year younger than you." Sakura shrugged, holding onto Inari's legs so that he wouldn't slip off of her shoulders.

"He also has a _big_ crush on Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered to the boy, making sure Sakura didn't hear him. "Maybe you could help me get rid of him so that the competition for her heart is down by one guy, ne?"

"Deal!" Inari yelled, a little too loud.

"What's a deal?" Sakura asked.

"Umm…I get at least one night of ramen with you a week if he gets to live with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, thinking quickly.

"Who I go out with and when is my choice, baka." Sakura sighed.

"Are you sure about that name, Tazuna?" A man asked.

"Yes. Those names brought us luck, and together they should do the same for this bridge. Who knows, maybe it'll be famous. NaruSaku. Naruto and Sakura, the innocent demon and the messed up angel. They are really something, aren't they?" Tazuna grinned.

"It would still be a better name for a ship." Tsunami mutter.

"What?" Tazuna asked.

"Oh! Nothing at all." She assured him. "NaruSaku…I beat ya, Kakashi. Too bad you're not here to give me that money you owe me."


	11. Chunin Exams: Meet the Freaks!

**A/N: Yes! The long awaited Chunin Exams! Votes are as follows:**

**NaruSaku: 45  
ItaSaku: 19  
SakuCentric: 6  
Inner!SakuKyuubi!Naru: 3  
NaruHina: 3  
No Shipping: 1  
ShikaIno: 1  
KyuuSaku: 1  
SakuNeji: 1  
KyuuHina: 1  
SakuKiba: 1  
NaruOc: 1  
NaruSakuSasu: 1  
SasuSaku: 1  
GaaHina: 1  
SakuShika: 1**

**I think it's safe to say that this'll be NaruSaku, but I'll try to add small bits of the other pairings where I can. So, over all, it'll be SakuCentric with NaruSaku as the main pairing! **

Chapter Eleven

A New Chapter Begins: The Chunin Exams!

Back in Konoha—much too late to be home, in Naruto's opinion—we join a certain blonde knuckle-headed ninja as he is just waking up in the morning. Still owning—and wearing—that funny sleeping hat he has, Naruto sat up in his bed and yawned. He stretched his arms above his head and opened his mouth wide.

The corners of his eyes were slightly watery, but that was to be expected after such a big yawn. Surveying the room, Naruto only thought of himself as lucky that he was the only one who saw it. Since he never cleaned before he left for Wave Country, and had made an even bigger mess upon arriving at home, his apartment was a dump.

Walking into his kitchen, he made himself some toast, buttered it, got the milk out of the fridge and sat down at the table with the milk and the toast on either side of him. He picked up his toast in one hand and his milk in the other, lifting the latter so that it was next-to his ear. He shook the carton slightly and heard the lumpy milk swashing inside.

"Argh." He groaned lightly at having only lumpy milk. Naruto sighed and placed it back down on the table, lifting his toast into his mouth and biting off a big piece of the crust. As he chewed slowly, Naruto remembered what had happened when they first arrived home a few days before.

[--

"_Alright, kids, the Konoha gates are just over there." Kakashi pointed out, looking ahead of them. All four of the younger ones—Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Inari—looked up and smiled—although Sasuke and Sakura really only showed relief._

"_Finally! My feet are tired, Dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed. Inari rolled his eyes and tightened the grip he had on Sakura's hand to bug the blonde when he looked over._

_Soon enough—after a lot of glaring, silent threatening and sighing—they had reached the gates. Two Chunin were sitting at the little stall near the front of the open gates, bored out of their skulls. When the five came into view, they literally jumped up to greet them._

"_Team Seven!" They cheered. "…and some other kid." The two added when they saw Inari._

"_Hey!" Inari complained at being just 'some other kid'. However, he said nothing else and stated into the village in awe._

"_He's Inari and I'll be looking after him from now on." Sakura stated with a cold glare at the men, as if challenging them to say no._

"_Well, I go and report our mission success to the Hokage and tell him about Inari. The rest of you can go home and unpack. I'll see you tomorrow for training. Ja." Kakashi bid as he 'Poofed' into thin air. His team shrugged as they walked through the gates._

"_Come on. Inari-chan…we're going back to my place." Sakura told the two-year younger boy. He nodded and followed her, sticking his tongue out at the fuming Naruto and the glaring Sasuke._

"_Come on." Sasuke called, walking in the same direction Sakura had taken Inari. Naruto followed him, but asked why._

"_Where are we going?" Naruto questioned. "Because, I don't swing that way if your trying to take me on a date, man! Dattebayo!" He added, getting slightly worried._

"_I don't want to date you or any other man, dobe! We're following Sakura and the brat." He stated, not stopping._

"_Hai!" Naruto cheered._

_They stopped when they saw Sakura, unlocking a door and walking into a house—which was probably hers—with Inari following closely behind. Only when she had shut the door behind her did the two scurry up to her window and peer inside._

"_Okay, wait here. Just take your shoes off and I'll see if the guest room is liveable or not." Sakura told the boy, walking up her stairs and disappearing into the second story of the house. She wasn't kidding when she said she had more than enough room for him._

_Inari walked in and out of a few of the down stairs room—taking off his shoes first, of course—before going back to the hallway. He was just in time too, since Sakura came down at that moment with an almost sheepish expression. But, we all know that Haruno Sakura doesn't __**do**__ sheepish._

"_What's up, aneki?" Inari asked. Sakura sighed._

"_The guestroom needs…some work. You'll have to sleep in my bed for tonight and I'll fix up the room tomorrow, I promise." She assured. Inari nodded vigorously and leapt up the steps two at a time. Sakura shook her head with an almost fond smile and followed him._

[--

Scowling at the milk—both because of the memory and because it was out of date—Naruto got up from his table. The blonde picked up the plate he had put his toast on and dumped it next to the sink—which was overflowing with other dirty plates and mouldy food—before he stretched out his back. He sighed as he walked into his bathroom.

Naruto took a shower, which—in case you forgot—he now had when ever he could manage because Sakura told him that he smelled bad. After washing his body and shampooing and rinsing his golden spikes, he stepped out of the shower and dried him self off.

Throwing the towel onto the floor with the pile of other dirty, discarded towels—_'I really need to pick those up someday…'_ He thought—Naruto pulled on some boxers and looked in the mirror at his face. He picked up his toothbrush and squirted the toothpaste out onto it before brushing his teeth a few times, rinsing out his mouth and washing his face.

When that was done, Naruto walked back into his room and grabbed his orange, ankle-length trousers, pulling them on, soon followed by his black shirt and orange jacket. Just before he left the house, he checked himself in the mirror in his hall, pulling his collar a few times to loosen it up and strapping on his Hatei-ate in it's usual place.

He took the silver handle of his front door in his grasp and turned it, so he could leave. After stepping out, Naruto closed the door and locked it like he always did, with the key that had a ninken keychain—the ninken looking a lot like the smallest dog Kakashi had summoned on the bridge in his fight with Zabuza.

Naruto pulled his Hatei-ate tighter and grinned. He began to do some random and—if he was anything but a ninja—possibly embarrassing stretches outside his door. First he twisted himself to work the stiffness out of his back, and then spun his arms to loosen his shoulder joins.

"Okay! Wake up!" Naruto said to himself as he continued to stretch. "Here we go…Rock and roll!" He yelled as he began to run in the direction of the bridge, where he would meet his team mates. "I'm…ready!"

[--

"Inari-chaaan!" A sing-song voice called out to the ten-year-old as he continued to snore. He shifted slightly and grumbled. "Wakey-wakey."

"I don't wanna get up get…" Inari complained.

"I have breakfast." Sakura tempted. Inari just rubbed his eyes and huffed, going back to sleep. "You're drooling." She stated. This time, Inari shot up and wiped his mouth to save himself further embarrassment.

"Come on, aneki! Why do I have to get up now?" Inari complained, pouting at his so-called sister. She sighed and rolled her emerald orbs.

"Because, we need to get ready. I'm getting you enrolled in the academy today." She told him, tucking a strand of hair behind her left ear. Inari, although slightly grudgingly, nodded and got up. Sakura left him so that he could change.

She walked down the stairs, dressed in her usual jumper and trousers, and ambled into the kitchen. On the table—as promised—was a big breakfast for her and Inari to share. She smiled slightly and sat down, hearing thumping coming from upstairs. Not five minuets later, a sheepish Inari sat opposite her and grinned at all the food.

"Cool!" He gushed. "I've never had such a big breakfast!" The boy added, looking at the feast before them. It was true. Sakura had gone all out for their breakfast. On the table—free for them to pick at—were bowls of nattō on rice, shiragayu, udon and some pork, chicken and miso ramen.

"I never really get the chance to cook. Usually, it's only instant ramen or umeboshi for one." Sakura shrugged. "Besides, I thought that you might need all the energy for your first day."

"Arigatoo, Sakura-nee-sama! I bet that none of the other kids have an older sister who is a ninja as well as an amazing chef!" He boasted, although no one but the Inari-proclaimed chef was there.

"Eat up." Sakura prompted. Inari did so and dug into everything, slurping down noodles loudly and chomping on every grain of rice he could fit on his plate, then going back for more. She sighed and ate in a more dignified manner.

[--

"See ya later, Inari-chan!" Sakura said as she gave Inari a kiss on the forehead and left him in the classroom with his new teacher and all of his new classmates.

"Bye, Sakura-nee-sama." Inari pouted, wanting her to either stay or take him with her. She shook her head and signed.

"I'll pick you up later. If I'm not here, go straight home and do any homework you get. I don't want you slacking off on your fist day." She warned, heading for the door.

"I had no idea you had a brother, Haruno-san." The teacher, a man by the name of Yoko.

"He's not really my brother…but I guess he's…_grown_ on me." She smirked, winking at Inari as she did so. Just before she reached the door, she heard Yoko say something else.

"Say good bye to Haruno-san, class." He ordered.

"Good bye, Haruno-sempai." They chorused, a few off beat and a few muttering, but all of the voices were there. The fact they called her 'sempai'—like someone else she knew—almost made her smile.

"Bye, class." She bid, leaving at last.

[--

Surprisingly enough, even with the detour to the academy, Sakura arrived at the bridge second. Sasuke was already there when she arrived, and he made it known by welcoming her with a short 'hey'. She replied with the almightily over-used 'hi', and they were swung into silence.

Sasuke leant on the red railing and Sakura stood a bit in front and to the left on him, worrying about Inari. She couldn't help but to think that she shouldn't have left him there, or that she should have stayed to see how he got on, or…well, something. She heard the sound of feet tapping on ground and looked at Naruto as he ran towards her.

"Hey, good morning, Sakura-chan!" He greeted. "What's up?"

"Not much. I just dropped Inari off for his first day at the academy and I've been waiting here with Sasuke for about ten minuets." She shrugged, not knowing that the name 'Sasuke' would cause Naruto to glare at the calm and collected boy.

Sasuke stared back and the two of them were consumed in a staring contest as Sakura closed her eyes and counted down from ten.

_Ten…_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

…_Nine…_

Naruto growled a little.

…_Eight…_

Sasuke's right eye twitched.

…_Seven…_

Naruto's lip quirked at the corner.

…_Six…_

Sasuke's usual scowl deepened.

…_Five…_

Naruto made a 'tsk' sound in way of further challenging.

…_Fo-OH, FORGET IT!_

"STOP IT! YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!" Sakura screamed. Both boys looked at her and blinked before huffing and looking in the opposite direction to each other. Sakura sighed. That was as good as it got.

'_Geez, they've been like this ever since we got back from the Land of Waves!'_ Sakura complained mentally. _'It's like being stuck with two children, not two experienced ninja!'_

'_**Cha! Hurry up, Kakashi-sensei, or you're dead!'**_ Inner agreed violently, shaking her fists and glaring at nothing.

[--

Time passed slowly and soon the team seven Genin were asleep on their feet. Kakashi chose this point to make his appearance, just to save him extra bruises if he were any later.

"Hey, guys." He called casually, lifting his hand in a way of greeting. "I'm sorry that I'm late. Afraid that I got _lost_ on the path of life." He sighed, trying to make it convincing.

"WHA-?! Y-You LIAR!" Naruto screamed at him, successfully waking Sakura from her light slumber. Kakashi sighed and jumped down, only to be automatically bombarded by his team.

"What are we doing next?" Sakura asked him calmly. It wasn't her who was the problem. It was the blonde who followed up her question with an entire _speech_ of his own.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm ready for the next ninja mission, sensei. And hey, come on, no more of this dumb beginner stuff, okay?" He ordered. "I want a chance to prove myself. I'm talking a _real_ mission! Where I can show what I'm made of! Gaaah! I've got to break out and burn it up!" Fire burned in his eyes. "See?!"

"Uhhhhhh, right." Kakashi said slowly, putting his hand up in mock defeat on the matter. "I get it. That's great, Naruto. Now, take it easy, would ya?" He asked. Naruto's head snapped in the direction of the brooding, but calm, Sasuke.

'_Grrrrr, Sasuke. He's always rescuing everyone on our missions.'_ Naruto thought as he put his hands up to fight. _'Trying to grab all the glory and making me look like a chump. But he'll not get the edge on ME!'_ He concluded proudly.

'_He is such a baka.'_ Sakura thought with a sweat-drop.

'_Dobe.'_ Sasuke deadpanned.

'_Today's the day!'_ Naruto promised with the flames still burning behind him.

[-Naruto's thoughts-

_Sasuke fell down. He was exhausted and heavily injured. A kunai sped towards him, but he was too weak to stop it. Looking up and preparing for his untimely demise, Sasuke was ready to accept his death. Suddenly, the amazing and totally heroic Naruto jumped in and used his own kunai to hit the other one away, thus saving the Uchiha._

"_Ha! What's the matter? Can't take care of yourself, Sasuke?" The hero asked him in vanity._

"_Naruto! You're a true hero!" Sakura gushed, hanging onto his arm and kissing him on the cheek._

[--

With a slightly perverted grin and solid determination burning behind him, Naruto clenched a fist and almost drowned in his thoughts of saving Sasuke, winning Sakura's love and being crowned ramen king. Then Sasuke would have to bow down to him and admit that Naruto is better than him. He'll have Sakura, the perfect queen, Hinata, his best friend and advisor, and everyone else would be his subjects. Ino and Sasuke would be thrown in his castle dungeon and Sakura and he would live happily ever after…now where have we heard this before?

"Believe it!" He cheered out loud. Sakura stared at him, freaked out, and Sasuke sighed at his weirder-than-usual behaviour.

"Let us know when you're done fantasizing, Naruto. Then we can start the mission, alright?" Kakashi asked, also worried about the blonde.

"Right!" Naruto agreed.

"You better not be dreaming about me." Sakura warned.

"Ah! N-No, Sakura-chan! Of course not!" He laughed nervously.

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"Teme." Naruto growled in return.

[--

Later that day, team seven were weed picking in the garden of some old lady who calls for this same mission every three seconds. Naruto watched Sakura as she dug her finger into the ground and froze the roots of all of the weeds in the garden. That would make it so that if they missed any weeds, they couldn't grow. He then looked at Sasuke as he pulled up a clump of weeds.

"Well, I'm gonna beat Sasuke, anyway." Naruto proclaimed as he began rolling up his sleeves and he ripped anything out of the ground, so long as he could get his hands on it. Flowers, weeds, leaves, mud and much more went flying.

After five minuets, his section of the garden was bare. Nothing but a big pile of greenery beside Naruto was there. He laughed and rubbed his nose, thinking of how the old lady would thank him for being to good and possibly even recommend him for bigger and better missions, ones that were more fit for a hero like him.

"Hey, you!" The lady said, walking over to the blonde. Sakura shook her head and Sasuke walked next to the pinkette, hoping to boost his score with her if it were possible.

"Oh. Hi, lady! I got rid of all your weeds." Naruto pronounced. "Pretty cool, huh?" He boasted, not noticing the growing vein on the lady's forehead. "Uh, what's wrong?" He asked, noticing her shoulders shaking.

"You pulled the weed." The lady confirmed. "And! You also pulled up all of my plants!"

"Huh?" Naruto voiced in surprise.

"Those were special herbs I've been growing and YOU DESTROYED THEM!" She hollered. From the front of the house, all anyone could hear was Naruto's pain-filled grunts as he got pummelled by an old lady.

"Now, I have something here for a certain Haruno Sakura." The old lady, who was suddenly nice again, stated towards the two Genin standing far from Naruto. Sakura looked up.

"That's me." She stated with a questioning frown. The woman smiled.

"Now, don't be too hard on the lad." The lady said, coaxing a young boy to step forwards. Inari appeared from behind her with a childish pout on his face. He didn't look over at his 'sister', but if he did he could have seen the confusion in her eyes.

"Inari…what happened?" Sakura asked seriously. Inari frowned and his bottom lip quivered.

"I didn't mean to hit him! He's been in training to be a ninja before, so I thought that he would dodge!" Inari stated quickly.

"Hit who?" Sakura demanded.

"Some guy in my class. I mean, he shouldn't have cried…it's only a broken nose." Inari shrugged.

"_Broken nose_? I leave you alone for one hour and you're already wreaking havoc! I thought that you promised to behave?" Sakura said in a tone that resembled whining. "Come on, you'll have to stay with us for the day. I can't leave you alone for more than two hours out of school and I have a lot more missions to do."

[--

Now sporting the 'black eye' look, Naruto used the tongs he was given for this mission to pick a can out of the river he stood in and throw it into the basket on his back. He grumbled as he wadded on though the water, collecting more cans. Sasuke did this as well, but Sakura wasn't anywhere near the water. Kakashi had given her permission to stay on the bank with him and Inari so that she could test him on his knowledge of chakra.

So, as Naruto and Sasuke fished rubbish out of the river and Kakashi read his orange book, Sakura tested Inari out of a book he had received for homework before he got sent home…well, to her. In all honesty, Inari believed that having Sakura teach him like that was much more fun that being stuck in that classroom with all the other kids.

The blonde boy cried out as he slipped in the water and was carried by the currents in the stream towards a giant waterfall. Sakura was too far away to get to him in time, Inari wasn't a practiced ninja and Kakashi…well, he had no excuse, really. Naruto went over, but before he could fall down too much, he found himself being held up by Sasuke, who had Sakura holding a rope at the top for him to hold on to.

"You are such a loser." Sasuke muttered. Naruto growled, mainly because he had to be saved again.

[--

"Bah! Hey!" Naruto grunted as he was pulled along by a dog that was easily twice his size. "Not there! You're supposed to go the other way!"

Sakura and Sasuke, who were holding the leashes to a pair of much smaller dogs, just shook their heads. Inari was sitting in a tree with Kakashi, both of them reading 'Icha-Icha' and 'The History of the Konoha' respectively.

"What a loser." Sasuke muttered.

"He just_had_ to pick the biggest dog." Sakura sighed as Naruto's dog pulled him near a restricted zone. She then looked up to Inari. "Who was the Shodai (first) Hokage's grandson?" She asked him.

"Nawaki, who is also the grandson of the Nidaime (second) Hokage, since the Shodai Hokage was the Nidaime Hokage's older brother." Inari answered perfectly.

"Good. Keep reading." She ordered.

"That's not a place for dogs, it's a minefield!" Naruto exclaimed as his dog dragged him to the restricted area. Sasuke and Sakura watched as five bombs went off. By the end of that mission, Naruto was singed from the bombs and the dog was A-okay.

[--

Kakashi, Inari, Sasuke and Sakura all walked down the street after their missions, with Naruto being supported by Sasuke and Sakura. The latter held his right arm over her shoulders, holding his wrist with her right hand, and her left arm around his waist. Sasuke was doing pretty much the same, except he had Naruto left arm held over his shoulder with his left hand and his right arm around the blonde's back, just above Sakura's so his and her arms were touching. She didn't notice, but he did.

"Look at you…you're hopeless, Naruto." Sakura stated angrily. It made Naruto think back to what she had said on the bridge.

"_I guess whenever Naruto screwed up, I got mad at him because it was like he was soiling Tsuki's good name."_

Those thoughts were pushed aside and he blushed when she adjusted his arm and he felt her arm shift on his back. The blush didn't last long, since Sasuke's comment was quick to be voiced by the Uchiha himself. Naruto knew that all these comments were to make him seem all the more pathetic in front of Sakura so that Sasuke could have her.

"You really are just one big problem." Sasuke noted casually, but with a taunting smirk. "Ouch!" He called out. Sasuke pulled away from his support of Naruto—leaving Sakura to hold him herself, thank you very much—and he looked at his arm. Right where Sakura's hand was brushing on his arm was a small red mark. She'd pinched him.

"Ha! Serves you right, teme!" Naruto cheered, pulling his arm away from Sakura so that she wouldn't have to deal with his weight. Inari seized this chance and held her hand, since it wasn't occupied with Naruto's wrist any more.

"I guess we're not making a lot of progress on the 'team work' thing then, huh?" Kakashi sighed, looking at his arguing team of misfits.

"That's right! Our team work's all messed up and it's all because of _you_, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, shaking a fist at the Uchiha, who was currently walking away. "You think you're better than everyone else?!"

"Not everyone." Sasuke assured, still walking. "Just you. Face it. I'm better and stronger than you are." He stopped walking and turned to face Naruto and Sakura. "It's a fact. Unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong?"

'_They're actually getting along __**worse**__ than before…if that's even at all possible.'_ Sakura noticed. _'Who should I help?'_

'_**CHA! Pick Naru-Naru-chan!'**_ Inner voted. Sakura shrugged and got ready to listen out for when she should step in.

Naruto was growling, but Sasuke remained silent. That is, he didn't make a sound until a flash of Haku's mask flitted though his mind. He narrowed his eyes and growled, remembering how he was pretty much proven to be weaker than Naruto in that fight. He was almost killed, Naruto was fine.

'_Grrrrr! I don't have time to waste on Naruto and these lame, baby missions. I've got to hone my skills so that I can beat them. So that I can finally be strong enough.'_ Sasuke thought with a growl of his own.

"All right guys…let's call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other time." Kakashi sighed, since he noticed that Sakura had already began ignoring Naruto and Sasuke in favour of giving Inari a pop-quiz on the treaties made in the past decade. "Anyway, I have to file my report on this mission."

"Whatever." Sasuke mumbled. "I'm outta here." He stated as he turned and began to walk away. Sakura looked up and watched him take five steps before she got up too.

"Wait up, Sasuke! I gotta ask you something!" She called after him. The Uchiha heard her and slowed a bit, but didn't stop. "Inari, wait here with Naruto." The pinkette told her charge as she jogged to meet Sasuke and they both walked on at the same speed.

"But-!" Naruto began, but he saw no point in it. He just cut himself off before he even finished that sentence. Anyway, she left him with Inari, so she would obviously be coming back.

[--

"So…what did you wanna ask?" Sasuke questioned, looking at Sakura as they stopped and he turned to face her. He noticed her cheeks turn slightly pink, but guessed that it wasn't a blush. Sasuke couldn't imagine Sakura asking him anything that would make her blush.

"Well…my and Naruto have pretty good team work already…so I was thinking that, maybe we could get together sometime and work on our team work too. It's pretty obvious that you and Naruto can only work together as a last-resort, but you and I are usually completely out of sync with each other." She shrugged. Sakura seemed to be running this thought over in his mind, but he was really just waiting so that he didn't seem too eager.

"Sure…I guess we could do that." He shrugged, but on the inside he was celebrating a personal victory against Naruto. Speaking of Naruto. "But, what about the do…uh, Naruto?" He asked, remembering the pinch he got for insulting Naruto before.

"I'll get him to babysit Inari." She smirked. "Maybe I'll tell him that I need some extra training and if he looks after Inari for a while, I'll get him some ramen. It usually works…I mean, I got him to give me a whole half hour of quiet by promising him ramen two days before orientation." She smirked.

Sasuke snorted at the thought of orientation. He couldn't believe that it was only a few months ago. Back then, Sakura and Naruto had _both_ acted as if they'd rather him be someone else. He's even heard Sakura say that not only did she think that the Nara-brain-box was better than him, but she'd rather be on a team with both Nara and Akimichi and him. That was only a few month back, and yet she now treated him like they'd been friends for years. She treated Naruto in almost the same way, except Sakura was more serious around Sasuke.

"I've gotta go and get Inari-chan back from Naruto before the baka stuffs the poor kid full of nonsense and I have to make him read those books all over again." Sakura sighed, turning to go back to Naruto and Inari.

The notion of grabbing her shoulder, spinning her around and kissing her right there ran through Sasuke's mind, but he'd only _just_ seen her act comfortable around him. He decided not to push it and just to go and train. Sasuke turned and walking in the opposite direction from the pinkette, the blonde, the brunette and the silver people.

Sakura got back to Kakashi, Naruto and Inari and scooped the brunette up in her arms, holding him like a mother would hold her baby. Inari didn't complain—unless blushing the colour of Rudolf's nose was a complaint—but Naruto didn't hush his whining. Kakashi, getting a headache, muttered something about a report and he 'Poofed' away.

Since Naruto was too busy complaining, Sakura was too occupied with walking away from him while testing Inari on the ninja countries and Inari was too busy with remembering the names of the villages inside certain countries, none of them noticed a square box decorated to look like the ground slide over to them. Actually, I suppose it was more of a rock costume than ground.

When it got close enough for Naruto to hear the shuffling, he turned to see a square rock with eyeholes stop next to his foot. Now, Naruto was the biggest baka you'd ever meet, but he knew when something was next to his foot and it wasn't there a few minuets ago. Very suspicious to him, how these rock are now a days.

'_Fake rocks? What's up with that?'_ He wondered to himself as his eyebrows twitched. He decided to test his theory by walking forwards a few steps. He heard the 'rock' follow him, so he stopped for a few seconds before breaking out into a run. The 'rock' was lifted slightly and the ones in the box ran after him, still confident of their little disguise.

He ran…they followed. He ran the other way, they followed. This carried on until Naruto and his boxy pursuers had run around a good eight times, but eventually he stopped and faced them. The box dropped, causing air to shift the dirt up around it and that made it obvious that the so-called rock was previously moving. Naruto pointed a finger at his followers.

"That's the worst disguise of all time! There's no such thing a square rocks!" Naruto proclaimed. "It's completely obvious, Dattebayo!"

"You saw through my camouflage again! You're slick, boss." A small voice from inside the box squeaked. "Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival."

"Oh no." Sakura sighed, standing a little behind Naruto with Inari sitting on her right lower-arm, holding onto her right shoulder as he looked at the box too, wondering what was going on. Then the box began to light, just a, explosion would before the 'BOOM!' happened.

To be specific, three booms happened, and all a different colour. One was pink, one was yellow and the other was blue. Once the smoke finally cleared, it revealed three kids in a crawling position, trying to catch their breaths from the smoke.

One was a girl, with orange/red hair sticking up and out to the side, tied into bunches with onyx eyes and a wardrobe made up of mainly pink with a permanent red blush to compliment her adorable look.

The boy on the far side had straight, brown hair and black eyes hidden behind round glasses. His clothing was mainly blue.

Lastly, there was the 'honourable grandson of the honourable third Hokage', also known as Konohamaru. He was missing his old cap and all three had the same style of green goggles as Naruto used to wear.

"I think we used a little too much gun powder, you guys." Konohamaru stated as he and his friends were coughing. They all seemed to notice Naruto and Sakura still looking at them and the introductions rolled out.

"I'm Moegi! The sassiest kunoichi in preschool!" The girl stated, rolling into a blue back ground. "Check me out!" She said, striking a pose.

"I love algebra!" The glasses-wearing boy stated, going into the same background. "Call me Udon!" He also struck a pose, but a different one to Moegi.

"And I'm the number one ninja in the village!" The one we already know stated for no reason. "My name is…Konohamaru!" He finished, also striking a pose.

"And when we're all together…" The three said in union. "We're the Konohamaru ninja squad!" They stated as their goggles shined.

"Yeah, yeah! I knew it was you, Konohamaru." Naruto yawned, obviously unimpressed with the display.

"_That's_ Konohamaru?" Inari asked Sakura. She nodded. _'Huh. I expected him to be…I don't know…older.'_ He shrugged.

"Hey, what are those things? Those goggles you're all wearing on your heads?" Naruto asked them, noticing the headgear for the first time.

"Haha! You used to wear goggles, remember? So we're copying you!" The grandson of Sarutobi stated proudly.

"Oh." Naruto said, still not interested in the kids. Konohamaru frowned and his friends didn't seem all that happy about his turn in attitude either, since he used to be so much 'cooler' to them.

"Hey! Come on, boss. Why are you being like that?" He asked. "You outta be more excited." Konohamaru scolded.

"So…did you want something?" He asked.

"He's just trying to be 'cool'." Konohamaru whispered to Udon.

"You know what we want." Moegi stated. "Are you busy _now_?"

"Ummm…I have to train, Dattebayo!" Naruto claimed.

"_What_?! But you promised that you would play ninja with us today." The leader of the trio complained. "Come on!"

"Uh, did I say that?" He asked nervously. _'If I say yes, these kids will keep bugging me all day and I wont get to train with Sakura-chan or get ramen with her and Hinata-chan!'_

"A ninja…_playing_ ninja?" Sakura asked slowly, putting Inari down. "What's the point in that?" She questioned.

"Sakura-chan! I thought that you left with the bra-ahahaha…I mean, Inari!" Naruto corrected, seeing the look she gave him.

"Sakura-nee-sama!" Konohamaru cheered, running to hug her. Sakura sighed and awkwardly patted his head as he hugged her legs. Once the boy let go, he grinned up at her.

"Konohamaru…who's she?" Moegi asked her friend. She looked at the kunoichi, expecting to see the usual fangirl-type that was common in Konoha, but found herself gaping in awe and the air around this pre-teen that just yelled supremacy. Her breath hitched and she was amazed that she had actually met a kunoichi in Konoha who had enough power to get that kind of aura.

"This is Haruno Sakura! She's the boss's kunoichi team mate!" The boy claimed proudly.

"Aa. You're Moegi, right?" Sakura asked, although it sounded more like a statement. Moegi could only nod. Udon was in pretty much the same position, but only because he'd heard from other kids and a few of the teachers that she and a boy named Shikamaru had the best intelligence the academy had seen in a long time.

"Onee-sama?" Inari called from behind her.

"Hm. Konohamaru, this is Inari. Inari, this is Konohamaru." Sakura stated to her 'otouto'. "I would introduce Moegi and Udon as well, but I've only just met them myself." She shrugged.

"Who're you to Sakura-nee-sama?" Konohamaru asked the year older boy with a glare on his face. Inari glared back.

"I live with her." Inari stated proudly. Konohamaru glared.

"Come on, Inari. Let's go." Sakura stated. She took Inari's hand and began to lead him away, but Konohamaru wasn't having any of that.

"I bet he's a cry-baby who Sakura-nee-chan took pity on." He nodded, hoping that Inari heard and it would stop them from leaving. It worked and Inari ran back and punched Konohamaru in the cheek.

"Why you-!" Konohamaru pounced on Inari and Inari fought back with all he had. The younger boy got punched in the nose by Inari—but nothing strong enough to break his nose—and he got up and began to lead Inari away from the others. Udon and Moegi followed straight away with Naruto running after them and Sakura walked, taking her time. She knew that neither Inari nor Konohamaru actually had enough strength to hurt each other too badly.

Konohamaru kept running until he bumped into someone and fell back, only to have Inari bumped into the same guy. They both landed, side-by-side, on the ground in front of the person they hit. Looking up to see who it was, they found fully armed ninja they had never seen before, standing tall and looking highly un-amused.

One was a kunoichi with a pale lilac off the shoulder, wrap-dress that had a red sash, sleeves that folded at her elbows and the bottom folded to just below her knees. Under the dress she had a net-shirt and her legs were netted to just below the dress. On her feet she wore black sandals, but not the same kind as any of the other ninja in Konohagakure. Her Hatei-ate sat around her neck and her blonde hair was tied into four, spiked ponytails.

The second person was male and was the one they bumped. He had a baggy black, full jumpsuit that cut off at his ankles and wrists and showed off the same style of sandals as the girl. His hands were in his pockets, but they could tell he had black gloves on. Upon his head sat a cowl with pointed cat-like ears at the top and his Hatei-ate on the forehead. On the chest of his jumpsuit was a white circle, the left side filled in with red and the right side yellow. All over his face were purple war-paint marks.

Both of them had a large weapon strapped to their backs. The girls looked to be a folded fan—a very big one, mind you—and the boy had something even bigger and wrapped in bandages. They looked very intimidating, especially from the point of view of a child who hadn't even graduated as a ninja yet.

"Do you need something?" The guy asked in one of those deep voices that all kids between the ages of five and ten found scary. Naruto, who had caught up by now, gasped slightly as Moegi and Udon looked worried for Konohamaru. Sakura was still taking her time, but now Naruto wished she would hurry up and tell him whether to attack or not.

[--

"Alright, thanks for the report, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka said as Kakashi dropped the mission report on the desk in front of him. "How's Naruto doing? Is he getting along okay with the other students?" He asked as Kakashi looked around. In the room were a bunch of other Jounin and Chunin, writing reports or just lounging around between shifts at the gate.

"Hm? Well…er…little by little. Sakura and Naruto still get along well." The Jounin answered vaguely.

"It's getting so busy around here. I haven't seen him since he got back from the mission in the Land of Waves. I'm a little worried." The Chunin confessed.

"Ah…you know, Sasuke is also in our group. Naruto sees him as a rival, which puts a constant strain on us and a very tight leash on our team work. But it also pushes Naruto to excel, so he's made amazing progress as it is. Some day, his skill may be so strong they'll match the person he respects most in the world. You." Kakashi stated.

"You don't say." Iruka chuckled. "What about…you know, Sakura?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Well, she hasn't really changed much power-wise. I don't think I can help her there while the other two are still learning basics. However, I noticed that she's actually the one pushing them to work together. Just today she offered some extra training with Sasuke to help their team work, since she and Naruto already have it perfectly and the boys just…wont get along." Kakashi laughed.

"That's good. Being around other people will do her a lot of good." Iruka nodded. "Speaking of other people…Sakura adopted a kid from Wave?"

"Yes, his name is Inari. She treats him like a little brother. All we need now is the 'okay' for Hokage-sama and he can stay with her." Kakashi sighed. "If he says no, I know that Sakura will destroy all of the training grounds to get rid of her anger."

"Then it's a good thing he told me to let you know that it's okay for Sakura to look after him. Hokage-sama said that I could tell you so that you can pass it on to Sakura next time you see her." Iruka smiled.

"I know that she and Inari will be thrilled." Kakashi replied.

[--

A bird circled the sky as Kurenai watched her team catch their breath from training. Kiba and Hinata were both panting visibly, but Shino looked at he usually did. The Jounin heard the bird's cry and her red eyes widened as she looked up.

'_Hmm, I wonder.'_ She thought.

[--

Asuma—the sensei of Shikamaru, Choji and Ino—looked up when he heard the bird's call. He and his team were seated just outside a small food stand. Choji was munching on his chips, Ino was drinking her tea and Shikamaru, who noticed how his teacher reacted to the bird, looked at the older man.

'_Huh…now?'_ Asuma wondered to himself.

[--

"Konohamaru! Inari!" Naruto called as the guy in black lifted up the younger one by his scarf and rested his foot heavily on Inari's chest.

"So…does this hurt, punks?" The guy asked, tightening his grip and stepping down harder. The girl looked around slightly and turned to the other boy.

"Put him down and get off the other one, Kankuro. You know that you'll just have to pay for it later." She warned him, still looking slightly around as if expecting someone to show up.

"YOU BETTER TAKE YOUR HAND OFF HIM RIGHT NOW!" Naruto hollered as the unknown ninja looked at his headband.

'_So he's a leaf village Genin.'_ Kankuro mused as he grinned slightly.

"We got a few minuets before he gets here. Let's mess with these punks a bit, huh?" Kankuro asked the girl. Konohamaru struggled and began kicking the older boy's chest while Inari was losing air due to the force of the boy's foot on his chest.

"You let go of me, you jerk!" Konohamaru ordered.

"You're feisty…but not for long." Kankuro stated, tightening his grip further. Naruto was growling by this point, wondering where Sakura was and why she was taking so long.

"Put him down!" Naruto roared, charging at Kankuro. Looking at Naruto with a calm expression, Kankuro moved his fingers a bit and directed his unseen attack at Naruto's feet. The boy was thrown back. "What was that?!" He asked in shock.

"You're a leaf Genin, huh? Looks like this village is full of wimps." The boy stated, sounding most amused.

"Hey! Cut it out! It hurts!" Konohamaru complained, looking at Inari who looked half dead from lack of air.

"That's it! Let them go now or I'll break you apart! You got that?" Naruto threatened.

"You're annoying…all of you." Kankuro mused. "I don't like runts or any other scrawny weaklings, so when a wimp like this starts shooting off his mouth…I just wanna break him in half." He concluded. Moegi and Udon began crying and Naruto only hoped what he was thinking of saying didn't sound as lame to them as it did to him.

"Fine." The girl sighed. "I'm not involved in any of this, okay?"

"First, I'll take care of this squirt, then I'll waste the other one." Kankuro stated.

"You just wait until Sakura-chan gets here! She'll hate you for hurting Inari and Konohamaru like that!" Naruto promised. The boy just laughed and pulled back his fist to punch Konohamaru. He froze his fist and his eyes widened as he looked in the direction of the leaf-nin.

"Correction, Naruto. I'll _kill him_ if he doesn't let them go." Sakura growled at him, her green chakra pouring out of her body and surround her. She lifted on hand and shot a ball of ice at Kankuro and it hit the had he was going to punch Konohamaru with. The ice didn't hit him very hard and he was about to laugh, until the ice covered his fist, freezing it solid.

Kankuro stumbled back, away from Inari, but kept the grip he had on Konohamaru. Sakura's chakra began to subside, since she couldn't maintain that flow for long, and she ran in front of Inari. She was now so close to Kankuro that he could smell her hair. Since the chakra was subsiding, so was Sakura's power, and the ice around his fist was weak enough for him to break.

The boy flexed his fist and the ice, now without chakra to reinforce its strength, shattered. He gritted his teeth and pulled his ex-frozen fist back again, this time to punch Sakura, and Naruto knew Sakura was usually tired after using ice attacks. The blonde yelled and ran forwards to stop Kankuro. But something stopped the outsider anyway.

A rock, no bigger than Naruto's big toe, stuck Kankuro in the hand he was holding Konohamaru with. The shock of the attack made him drop the scarf-wearing kid and Konohamaru landed on his butt. Sakura used this chance to pick up Inari, set him on his feet next to Moegi and step forwards to attack if she needed to.

The older boy held his wrist were the rock—which was actually more of a small stone—had him and he stared in disbelief that such a miniscule thing could cause him enough pain to drop the kid. No matter how small the pain was, the stone had still managed to stop his attack.

He growled and looked up into the tree where the stone came from. Low and behold, Sasuke sat there with another stone in his hand. He didn't look down just yet, but anyone with eyes could see that he was trying to control his anger. He had seen what the ninja was doing and he had known that he was close to hitting Sakura.

"You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league." The Uchiha stated, throwing the stone up and catching it, then throwing it up again. The girl looked up at him with a small blush across her cheeks.

'_Well, well…the local hottie.'_ She recognised, due to the posture, voice and appearance. Every village had at least one.

"Sakura-nee-sama!" Konohamaru called as he ran to the girl who stopped him getting hit by almost getting hit herself.

"You basterd! I didn't need your help!" Sakura yelled up at him with a sneer. Sasuke looked at her casually and she gritted her teeth.

"Yeah, because almost getting punched in the face looks so masterful that I'll have to train harder to let that happen to me." Sasuke mocked as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me go all Kanjoo jiyuu on your ass!" Sakura threatened.

"You do that and I'll have to go all _avenger_ on yours." Sasuke retorted smartly. Sakura glared at him and the next thing everyone knew, he had a poison senbon right next-to his head. No one even knew she had thrown it until it landed.

"Well?" Sakura prompted.

"You made your point." Sasuke grunted, looking away. Kankuro looked at the senbon ad then the girl and whistled low.

'_She's gorgeous! But this guy…I don't know.'_ Kankuro thought. "Oh great, another wimp to tick me off." He sighed as if it were normal for everyone to bug him. Sasuke caught the stone and crushed it in his hand, letting the powder sprinkle.

"Get lost." He ordered. Moegi looked at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes and even Sakura had to admit that his posture and voice made him look pretty cool.

"Grrrr, how come _you're_ not cool like that?" Konohamaru asked his 'boss' while pointing to Sasuke.

"Ah, whadda ya mean? I could've taken that guy out in two seconds flat, no problem." Naruto assured. Sakura looked at him and scoffed.

"Wasn't_he_ the one who did that to _you_?" She asked.

"Gah! You saw that?" Naruto panicked. Sakura shrugged and looked back to Kankuro and Sasuke. _'Grrrr! Sasuke! You're always trying to make me look bad in front of everyone!'_

"Hey, punk." Kankuro called to Sasuke. "Get down here." He ordered as Sasuke looked at him with an 'as if' look plastered all over his face. "_You_ are the kind of pesky little snot I hate the most. All attitude and _nothing_ to back it up." He stated as he pulled his weapon off of his back.

"What?!" The girl yelled. "Are you gonna use the Crow? For this?" She questioned in worry.

"Kankuro, back off." A voice from the same tree as Sasuke—but on the branch on the other side—commanded in an icy tone. "You're an embarrassment to our village." Everyone looked to where it had come from to see an eyebrow-less red-head wearing desert robes with a gourd on his back and the kanji for love above his left eye.

"Oh…u-uh…H-Hey, um…Gaara." Kankuro stuttered.

'_How did he get there?'_ Sasuke wondered. _'He didn't make a sound. Only Jounin at Kakashi's level are that smooth, as far as I know.'_ He remembered. 'Gaara' narrowed his eyes and looked from Sakura to Sasuke.

[--

"I have summoned you all for a very important purpose." The Sandaime Hokage stated to everyone gathered in his office. "Seeing your fellow Jounin here, I'm sure you realise what this is about."

'_So soon? I thought we'd have a little more time.'_ Kakashi confessed in his mind.

"I take it the other lands have been notified about the coming event before now then. I noticed that some of their Genin have already arrived here in the village." Asuma sighed.

"And?" Kurenai asked. "When do we start?"

"We will begin in one week." Sarutobi stated.

"That's pretty short notice." Kakashi said.

"Take heed." Sarutobi began. "Exactly seven days from today, on the first day of July, the Genin will be gathered and tested. Only the very best will be selected as Chunin."

Identify Yourselves: Powerful New Rivals!

"You're an embarrassment to our village." Gaara repeated. "Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?"

"I know…I-I mean, they challenged us." Kankuro replied, pointing at Sakura and Naruto.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked in an offended tone, sending him a death-glare worthy of the grim reaper. Kankuro gulped, but decided to keep trying to play on Gaara's good side.

"They started the whole thing, really." He continued, attempting to ignore the death-glare. "You see, here's what happened-"

"Shut up." Gaara interrupted. "Or I'll kill you." He added icily, staring intensely at the one he was threatening.

"Uh, right. I was totally out of line." He said, putting his hands in front of him as defence. The girl copied his position. "I'm s-sorry Gaara; I was t-totally out of line." Kankuro said, trying to get Gaara to stop staring at him like he wanted him to explode or die in a very painful way. Looking away from Kankuro, Gaara shifted his gaze to Sakura.

"I'm sorry…for any trouble he caused." Gaara said. Sakura stared at him, both of them giving the other eye contact, but then she looked away, finding a fascinating hold in the fence near her to look at. Gaara shifted his gaze over to Sasuke, who didn't turn away.

'_This guy has an evil look in his eye.'_ Sasuke noticed as Gaara turned to look at him. _'And he stares at Sakura way too much.'_ He added with a frown, even though Gaara had only looked at Sakura once.

'_He stopped Kankuro with a mere pebble. He made it look easy. This guy is someone to keep an eye on.'_ Gaara acknowledged. He looked again to Sakura, who was now talking to Inari. _'And that girl. Her chakra is controlled perfectly, but her power and body are not. A very interesting combination. She is also someone to watch.'_ He noted.

'_Hmm, not from this village. They reek of the sun. A disgusting scent that a good few of the shinobi, kunoichi and villagers here have, but no where near as badly as these ninja. They must come from a hot environment, like a desert or something. Where ever they are from, their smell is making me feel sick.'_ Sakura, a Snow-nin by birth, wrinkled her nose as she thought that. No matter how long she'd lived in the heat, she still loved the cold and hated the stench of people who lived in the hot climates of places like Fire, Lightening, Wind and some places in Stone.

Sand surrounded Gaara and it looked as if he himself burst into the little grains. Sakura, once again, felt the urge to cover her nose as the sand, the very essence of deserts—some of the most heated places in Japan—moved closer and swirled on the ground. It let up when Gaara's crouched body showed up in the spot it landed and he straightened up. Sasuke, still up in the tree, stood to get a better look.

"Let's go." Gaara ordered. "We didn't come here to play games." He added coldly as he began walking.

"A-Alright, Gaara. Sure…I-I get it." Kankuro stuttered as he and the girl turned to walk away too.

"Wait a minuet." Sakura called, stepping in front of Naruto and the others while trying not to cringe at the foul desert smell hanging off of and around these foreign ninja. They stopped, but didn't turn to look at her.

"What is it?" The girl asked. She turned to look at Sakura, soon followed by Kankuro and Gaara, who also turned to observe her.

"Let me see you're permission to be here." Sakura stated. "I can tell by you're headbands that you're not from Konohagakure."

"Um, what're you gonna do? Beat them up?" Konohamaru asked, hoping to see Sakura fight.

"No, but I'm going to use my rights. You need permission to enter out village, as all outsiders do. As a kunoichi of Konohagakure, I have the right to demand that you show some identification and your passports as well as your Chunin exam forms." Sakura ordered.

"We have permission." The girl stated, pulling out her passport and showing it to Sakura. She then switched it with her Chunin exam registration form and held it out for Sakura to take, as well as her passport. Sakura took both and observed them carefully, before giving them back with a nod. The girl sighed and nodded, elbowing the brunette for him to take out his form and passport too.

"Here you go, cutie." He said with a wink. Sakura rolled her eyes and took the form and passport. She read both carefully, just as before, but narrowed her eyes at the bottom part.

"Your form isn't completely filled in." She informed him, pointing to the bottom where he had to fill in his age. Kankuro took it back and looked at it before grinning.

"Hey, thanks. That might've kept me out of the exams." He said, filling in the space with a pencil he fished out of his pocket. Sakura looked over to the red-head, who was holding both his form and passport in his right hand. Sakura walked over to him, took them both and read them over before giving them back to him and nodding.

"Okay then, it's good." Sakura confirmed.

"What is?" Inari asked. Sakura shook her head at him, meaning that it wasn't important for him to know.

"You have the permission. I guess that I can't get you kicked out, but I can tell you not to hurt these kids anymore, got it?" Sakura warned, looking mainly at Kankuro. He nodded and she walked back to the others, standing just in front of them. "I _knew_ that you guys weren't from around here. An hourglass…filled with _sand_. That makes it pretty obvious." She snorted.

"Makes_what_ obvious, onee-sama?" Inari asked, tugging on her big jumper.

"That they're from somewhere called Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand. They're from Wind Country." Sakura explained. "Our countries may be allies, but that doesn't exactly get my trust from you guys. Where as _we_ didn't know where you were from at first, you had to have known where we're from and you still attacked us." She frowned.

"You're correct, of course." The girl nodded. "We _are_ Hidden Sand Genin and our home is the Land of Wind. And you were right that we are here for the Chunin exams too." She smiled.

"The Chunin exams? What's that?" Naruto asked, clueless as ever. Sakura looked at him with pure disbelief painted across her face. She hit herself in the forehead with her hand.

"Oh, Kami-sama! Why, _why_ did I get put in a squad with the biggest_baka_ in Konoha?" She asked herself, hitting herself in the forehead again for good measure and to emphasize her point.

"Well, I've never heard of any Chunin exams, Dattebayo!" Naruto stated, still in his confused tone.

"Oh, I believe it, alright. I believe that you're totally clueless." The girl smirked with her arms crossed.

"Don't I know it." Sakura sighed.

"Good to know that not all Konoha ninja are weak and stupid, especially the kunoichi." The sand kunoichi smiled.

"Um, boss? Those are the exams that every Genin has to take to graduate and become a full-on Chunin." Konohamaru explained.

"Even I knew that." Inari muttered.

"Oh! Well, why didn't you say so? I am _so_ there!" Naruto said, pumping his clenched fists in the air in excitement.

"Hn." Kankuro snorted at the blonde as the three Sand-nin turned and began walking away again. Sasuke was the one to stop them this time as he jumped down next to Sakura and she crossed her arms.

"Hey!" Sasuke called. "You! Identify yourself!" He ordered. The girl stopped and turned around, pointing to herself with a smile.

"Hm? You mean me?" She asked happily.

"No. Him." Sasuke corrected, pointing at Gaara.

"The guy with the gourd on his back." Sakura clarified, although she knew their names from when she checked their passports. Kankuro stopped and turned and then Gaara did the same.

"I am Gaara. Sabaku no Gaara." He stated proudly. "I'm curious about you and your friend with the pink hair too. Who are you?" The desert-nin asked.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke." He replied with a smirk.

"Haruno Sakura." The pinkette followed. The three of them stared in silence, with Gaara's gaze switching slowly between Sakura and Sasuke and the two leaf-nin staring at him in all calmness.

"Hi there! I bet you're dying to know my name too!" Naruto said, breaking the silence, as he grinned and pointed his thumb at his chest.

"I couldn't care less." Gaara stated in all seriousness.

"So, your names are Gaara, Kankuro and Temari and you're from the Village Hidden in the Sand, just to clarify." Sakura stated. The three nodded. "I look forward to seeing you again." She smirked.

"Hm, maybe you and I can get together for a date sometime?" Kankuro asked slyly.

"More like for a spar or battle…or something along those lines." Sakura signed. Kankuro shrugged and the three of them turned and jumped up, thus leaving the Konoha ninja/ninja-in-training alone.

'_Hm…things are getting interesting.'_ Sasuke smirked.

"Hey, Konohamaru? Do I seem un-cool or something?" Naruto asked the one who was first to give in the title 'boss' as they sunk in the blue and black depression only seen in anime.

"Well, compared to Sasuke and Sakura-nee-sama, yeah. You're pretty lame." Konohamaru shrugged in reply.

"Ahh! You're not gonna show me up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled at his number one rival for both attention and Sakura's heart.

"Hn, back off, loser." Sasuke snorted.

Up a tree, overlooking the fighting Genin, were a bunch of participants for the Chunin exams. Two were boys and one was a girl, making them a traditional team. The boy sitting had bandages coving all of his face, save for his left eye and ear. On his back was a mound of white fur and he wore a grey shirt with sleeves so long that they over-lapped his hands and then some. The girl had knee-length hair, the same as Sakura, which was tied loosely near the bottom and her Hatei-ate around her forehead and a green, sleeveless top. The last guy had black, spiked hair, his Hatei-ate around his forehead and a yellow top with elbow-length sleeves. All three wore a grey scarf doted with black and the same style of baggy, grey and black trousers with long black, opened-toed boots.

"What do you think, Dosu?" The spiky-haired boy asked the one with the long sleeves.

"The usual weaklings." Dosu replied. "Nothing special. But the one from the Uchiha clan, that desert-rat and the girl with pink hair…we should watch them. Carefully."

"Hmm, agreed." The girl nodded.

[--

"Alright, it is time for us to choose our candidates for the Chunin examinations." The Sandaime Hokage announced. "To begin, could those in charge of the rookie Genin please step forwards?"

"Hatake Kakashi, reporting." Kakashi stated as he took a few steps towards the Hokage.

"Sarutobi Asuma, ready for duty." Asuma said as he walked forwards as well.

"Yuhi Kurenai, here as requested." Kurenai informed them as she stepped into the space between Asuma and Kakashi.

"Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma. What do you three have to say? Are there any in your squads you wish to recommend, who are ready to take these exams despite their inexperience?" Sarutobi asked. "As you know, any Genin who has carried out eight or more missions is technically eligible for the examination. Beyond that, only you can decide when they are ready."

"It is understood, lord Hokage." The three chorused as if they had practiced what they were going to say and when they were going to say it.

"Right. You remember that most Genin require a longer training period and at least _twice_ that many missions." The Hokage reminded them.

"Yes, lord Hokage." They said in union. Iruka just nodded at the Hokage's words.

'_There's no need to say all this. Its way too soon for their squads. They probably won't even recommend them yet.'_ Iruka thought confidently.

"So, Kakashi, you begin." The Hokage said. Kakashi nodded and used his right had to perform the tiger seal, as was customary for these events.

"I am the leader of Squad Seven. Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend _all three_ of these Genin for the Chunin selection examinations." Kakashi stated. Iruka gasped at his words as Kurenai made the tiger seal next.

"My squad is number eight. Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. And now I, Kurenai Yuhi, also wish to recommend all three of these Genin for this exam." She proclaimed. Asuma took up the seal next as he set about his recommendations too.

"And I lead squad number ten. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. So now I, Sarutobi Asuma, would like to recommend all three for the Chunin selection examinations." He stated. Whispers flowed through the crowd gathered, most confused or worried about the ones recommended.

"Hold on!" Iruka shouted. "Just wait a minuet." He protested.

"Yes? What is it, Iruka?" The Sandaime asked.

"With all due respect, lord Hokage, the nine names that were just given were all my students at the academy. I know their skills and abilities best out of anyone in this room." Iruka told them proudly. "Every one of them has great promise, but it's too soon. They need more experience before they are tested. If they try out now, they're sure to fail the exam." He stated in concern.

"When _I_ became a Chunin, I was six years younger than Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto are now." Kakashi stated in an almost daring tone, wondering whether Iruka had the spine to argue.

"Naruto is nothing like you! Neither are the others! Are you trying to destroy them?!" Iruka asked angrily, stepping out of the crowd to face Kakashi better as he spoke.

"Well, the three of them are always complaining to me about not being challenged enough. Maybe wiping out on the exams will teach them all a lesson or two." Kakashi shrugged. "A little pain it good."

"Wha…What did you say?" Iruka asked, wanting to clarify that Kakashi had just stated that he would hurt his students if it meant teaching them something.

"Well…nothing fatal, of course." Kakashi assured. "But seriously, Iruka, relax. Listen, I understand how you feel. It's very personal for you, and it upsets you, but-"

"Alright, Kakashi, back off. You've said enough." Kurenai told him in the same warning tone she uses on Kiba when he threatens to let Akamaru eat all of Shino's bugs.

"On the contrary, Kurenai. Iruka needs to hear this." Kakashi corrected her. "He needs to realise that they're _not_ his students anymore. They're mine." He confirmed. Iruka growled.

'_Uhh, enough already.'_ Asuma complained mentally, getting a bigger headache from the grown men than he did when Ino and Shikamaru argued about whether it was more important to smell nice than to smell of nothing when hiding from enemy ninja. Guess who thinks what.

Kurenai, having already tried to sort them out, just sighed and decided to let the Hokage deal with it. She usually managed to sort out Kiba and Shino, but sorting out two twelve-year-old boys was significantly easier than dealing with two stubborn men in their twenties. At least with Kiba and Shino she had Hinata the peace keeper with her.

"But! These exams could destroy them! You know that!" Iruka accused, getting angrier and angrier at Kakashi's calm attitude toward the thought of destroying his pupils.

"Iruka. You have made your point, I understand." Sarutobi stated.

"Lord Hokage." Iruka bowed in a way of apologising for stepping out of line.

"Accordingly, I have decided that the best thing to do is to hold a special preliminary test." He nodded.

"Pre…Preliminary test?" Iruka echoed, just to be sure.

[--

Once again, the three Genin of team seven were leaning on the railing to wait for their _ever punctual_—as if!—sensei. Sakura was watching her reflection in the water. She had dropped Inari off at the academy a few hours ago after making him promise not to break any more noses. Sighing to herself, she tried to hear her own thoughts over Rage's constant yelling and screaming.

Giving up on that, she watched her reflection as she decided to let her emotions have free reign for a while. Performing the necessary seals with a long sigh and muttering the correct words for her family's special jutsu, Sakura looked at her eyes as the emerald green colour slowly became blood red. Look out, look out; Rage is about!

"AHHHH! Why?! Why?! Why?!" Rage screamed, causing Naruto and Sasuke to look at her. Seeing the colour of her eyes, they nodded in understanding of her behaviour. "It's always the same! He sets the time and then we have to wait hours for him!"

"It's not fair!" Naruto yelled in agreement, loving it when Sakura let her emotions go free. It reminded everyone that she had feelings and wasn't just a block of ice with pink hair, green eyes and a love for the colour red.

"What about _my_ feelings?! I rushed here so fast, that I didn't even have time to eat breakfast! And I skipped dinner last night because of training and helping Inari finish his homework!" Rage…well, raged. She clenched her fists and imagined strangling Kakashi.

"And I didn't even have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Naruto stated in pride. Of what, I will never understand. But Rage didn't get to question him on this, because Sakura's eyes turned such a pale green, they were almost white. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present, Shy! The emotion with the cutest and most adorable attitude of the bunch.

"Y-You d-d-did-didn't?" Shy stuttered. Her eyes darkened back to their usual emerald green, meaning that Sakura had control again.

"That's really disgusting, Naruto." Sakura told him as she undid her jutsu so that other emotions—such as Desire and Love—didn't get out and spread her secrets to her team.

'_First thing in the morning and the both of them are already driving me nuts.'_ Sasuke huffed in his mind as he watched Sakura pummel Naruto for breathing on her with his foul morning breath. He looked up in enough time to see Kakashi appear on one of the beams on the bridge in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, good morning, guys." He called casually again, lifting his hand in a way of greeting. "I'm sorry that I'm late. Afraid that I got_lost_ on the path of life." He sighed, trying to make it convincing.

"YOU LIAR!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice as Sakura growled and Sasuke moved to stand in a line with his two team mates. Ignoring the hurtful and _totally untrue_ word of his student, Kakashi jumped down in front of the three.

"I know this is a bit sudden, but I recommended you for the Chunin exams. All three of you." Kakashi informed them. "These are the application forms." He said, holding out three pieces of paper with spaces for their names, ages, birthdays, names of team mates, name of sensei etcetera.

"Application forms?" Sakura echoed.

"You're repeating me, Sakura." Kakashi said gleefully. "This is all voluntary. If you don't feel ready, you can wait until next year." He promised them with a smile under his mask.

"All right!" Naruto cheered, hugging Kakashi around the neck. "Kakashi-sensei, you're the best!" He declared as they swung around and Kakashi tried to pry Naruto off of his neck.

"Don-Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi cried distraughtly as he pulled Naruto off of him and set him down next to Sasuke and Sakura. "Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application, fill in the details and take them and yourselves to room 3-0-1 at the academy. It's at 3pm, five days from now. That's it."

"Chunin exams…Chunin exams!" Naruto cheered with a laugh as he looked at his application form.

[--

"Hmm, Chunin exams." Naruto pondered as he looked at his form while he, Sasuke and Sakura walked away from the bridge. "I'll be up against some really wicked ninja!" He added. _'Like the guy with the mummy on his back.'_ Naruto thought, seeing a picture of Kankuro in his head. _'And, of course, Mr Attitude.'_ He continued, sending a nasty look towards Sasuke.

[-Naruto's thoughts-

_Kankuro fell to the ground, defeated, and a beaten Sasuke fell on top of him. Above the two of them, Naruto rested his foot on Sasuke's back and grinned as he assumed his 'hero-pose'. He had defeated his biggest rival and the guy who made him look like an idiot in front of Sakura, who also flirted with her!_

"_Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Who's the grand champion? That'd be me!" He boasted as confetti fell from the sky. Now standing in the position for first on a podium with Sasuke on second and Kankuro on third, Naruto lifted a golden trophy above his head. "If I come out on top, becoming Hokage will be easy after that!" He claimed._

"_I have to accept it." Sarutobi sighed, free from his Hokage hat and formal robes. "Naruto's better than an old geezer like me, so I'll just retire and let __**him**__ be Hokage."_

"_Yay!" Naruto cheered, holding his fingers in a 'peace' sign as he wore the Hokage's robes and hat._

"_Oh, Hokage-sama! I just realised my love for you! Kiss me!" Sakura cried as she ran into Naruto's arms and kissed his cheek._

[--

Naruto laughed as his fantasy continued, since there was no Kakashi to stop him fantasizing this time around. He looked at Sasuke, thinking of way to make his dream a reality. Sasuke, who was completely unaware of the deaths being thought out for him in Naruto's mind, looked ahead and lest himself in his thoughts.

'_I hope I get the chance to fight that guy.'_ He thought, an image of Gaara in his mind. _'I just…if the pairings for fights are completely random like Kakashi-sensei said they were, will I get pitted against Sakura?'_ He wondered, looking at his pink-haired team mate, who also seemed to be lost in her thoughts. He didn't doubt that she would still attack him full-force if the time called for it, but that really didn't make him feel better.

'_These pairings are random…the fights, I mean. If I get paired against Naruto, or Sasuke, or even Hinata, I don't think I'd be able to lift a fist against them. Then again, I've killed family. This should be easy pickings for me. So…why is it so hard?'_ Sakura asked herself.

'_**I have a hunch. If people come from all around the ninja villages, would it be possible that Tsuki, Taiyoo and Juhi are here?'**_ Inner asked her outer.

'_They wouldn't bother. Juhi was already a Jounin medic when I left, and Taiyoo, Tsuki and I had passed the Chunin exams already. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them were ANBU by now.'_ She thought sadly.

[--

Ninja poured in through the Konohagakure gates. Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Grass. Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain. Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sound. Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Snow. All over, people had heard of the exams and were coming to take part, and a lot of them weren't even Genin anymore, just posing as weaker ninja.

"Do you think she's here?" One ninja asked his team.

"Only one way to find out." The oldest member of the squad replied.

[--

Night became day and Naruto found himself walking across the Team Seven Bridge, as most now called it, to find Moegi, Konohamaru, Udon and Inari. They were playing ninja together. Moegi was holding a daffodil as if it were a dangerous weapon and the boys were trying to avoid it at all costs. Inari pushed Konohamaru towards the petal-covered plant and the grandson of the Hokage pushed back, but they all stopped playing and grinned when they saw Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto!" Konohamaru acknowledged. "Come and play ninja with us, please?" He asked with a toothy—except one of his front teeth—grin directed at his 'boss'.

"Sure!" Naruto accepted happily. "I don't have any _dangerous_ ninja missions today, so no problem!" He promised as the kids cheered happily at the thought of playing with one of their two favourite ninja in the whole village.

A Rain-nin suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke and stood behind Moegi for a few moments. Then, without warning or cause, he picked up the girl and chuckled as he jumped up onto one of the beams above the four boys left on the ground below him. Moegi screamed and struggled, but she couldn't get free from his more powerful and skilled ninja no matter how hard she tried.

"Naruto! Konohamaru! Help!" She called in desperation.

"What're you doing with Moegi, you big slug?!" Konohamaru yelled up to the older ninja.

"Let her go!" Naruto ordered. "Now!" He bellowed. The ninja did nothing but cackle and jump off with Moegi still trapped him his grasp. "Come on, Konohamaru!" Naruto called as he jumped up to follow the enemy ninja.

"I'm with ya, boss!" Konohamaru agreed as he jumped up too.

"Hold on!" Inari and Udon called as they followed the two other boys.

[--

On a roof in the middle of Konoha, Sakura and Hinata were sat together, sipping Hinata's home-made blend of ginseng and honey tea, filled up with herbs and spices to help the bones and strengthen the heath of the one drinking it. She had tried to give some to her team, but didn't get the reaction she had hoped for. Kiba spat it out and yelled about how horrible it was and Shino just set down his cut and walked away.

"W-Well? H-How is i-it?" Hinata asked her friend hopefully. She knew that Sakura was a skilled cook with a defined taste for good food and drink, so if anyone knew the difference between a good taste and a bad taste it would be her.

"Hmm, it's very good. Inuzuka-san and Aburame-san much have no taste buds if they thought that this was bad. However, there _is_ a tiny bit too much rosemary. Cut back a bit on that and this would be the best tea I've ever hand, and the healthiest too." Sakura smiled. Hinata let go of the breath she had been holding and smiled shyly.

"Th-Thank you, S-Sakura-chan." She said in gratitude. Sakura shrugged and continued to drink her tea, causing Hinata to smile more because Sakura carried on drinking it.

"Hey!" They heard a male voice from down on the street. Looking over the edge of the roof, Sakura saw that it was Sasuke and she waved slightly to him, getting the same gesture back.

"Konnichiwa, Sasuke! What do you want?" Sakura asked him, still looking at him to be polite.

"Let's take a walk." He offered. "Just you and me." The Uchiha added when he saw Hinata peak over the edge to see him. Sasuke watched as Sakura turned to whisper something to Hinata and then look back at him.

"Fine, but I'm only staying with you for twenty minuets. I promised the day to Hinata-chan." Sakura told him. Sasuke nodded in agreement and watched the girls hug briefly before Sakura jumped from the roof to meet him at the bottom.

[--

The Rain-nin laughed and carried on through the masses of trees that Konoha was known to be hidden in. Still carrying Moegi, who was too scared to speak at that moment, he looked back to see where Naruto was, only to find the boy right on his trail and in his sights.

"Well, well." He mused. "He can keep up with me at this speed." He said, sounding almost impressed.

"I'll get this creep!" Naruto yelled. "Moegi!" He called to the frightened little girl being carried by the enemy-nin.

[--

"Oh man." Konohamaru sighed as he, Udon and Inari stopped. "This is bad. Where's the boss? We've got to find the boss."

"Are we lost or is he?" Udon asked, jumping onto the same branch as he village-named boy.

"Obviously us!" Inari said, taking the lead and jumping the way he was taught in the academy. "Come on!"

[--

"No!" Moegi cried as she was tied to a tree. "You let me go!" She ordered, but the Rain-nin just cackled. She was tied up with thick rope and the ends of that rope were attached to the tree via a kunai on each side.

"I thought that the Hidden Leaf Village had powerful ninja, but now I see that you are nothing!" He cackled. "Just a bunch of weaklings." The man concluded as he tied a gag around Moegi's mouth. Naruto jumped down behind him, much sooner than the man had anticipated. "Hm? Well, that was quick."

"Hey! You! Yeah, you, the fat old guy!" Naruto insulted. "Whadda ya think you're doing with Moegi?" He demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the kidnapper.

"What am I doing? Is that your question?" He laughed, holding another kunai out and to Moegi's throat. "Do you really want to know?"

"Ah!" Naruto called in surprise of the sudden threat.

"If you move, the brat's finished." He promised.

"Hey! Why are you doing this? She's just a kid! Let her go!" Naruto ordered, worried for the life of the young girl.

"I want the Shodai Hokage's scroll of sealing." The man informed him gruffly. "Bring it to me and I'll let the girl go."

"The scroll…of sealing?" Naruto echoed.

[--

"Ne, Sasuke? Why are we in the training grounds?" Sakura asked as Sasuke led her to the place Naruto go tied to the post. "I told you, no more than twenty minuets. I don't think we can fit training into the eight minuets we have left." She told him.

"I need to tell you something and I didn't want everyone else in the village to hear it." He explained. Sakura nodded, waiting for him to carry on. "You should just give up on the Chunin exams. There's no way you could get through them without losing control."

"But, I've been training. I can control my kekkei genkai better than before, and I might not even use it." Sakura shrugged.

"You have a…? Never mind. These ninja are very advanced and they have no mercy. If you try to fight them, then you could lose your life." The Uchiha warned her. Sakura looked at him suspiciously, but played along.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked. "Do you care about me or something?"

"I…umm…yeah. I guess I do." Sasuke smiled. The same Rain-nin that was holding Moegi hostage appeared on one of the posts behind Sasuke and laughed.

"Aww, two sweethearts. How cute." He mocked.

"Get lost, unless you wanna die." Sasuke threatened.

"Talk is cheap!" The ninja proclaimed as he jumped up ad sent three shuriken towards Sasuke. The latter pulled out a kunai and parried them all, leaving them to lie uselessly on the ground. He wasted no time and ran forwards to attack the ninja.

"Now I'm really mad!" Sasuke told him. "No way!" He yelled as the ninja leapt up and threw a wooden umbrella at him. Sasuke hurled his kunai at the end of the umbrella, but it split into hundreds of sharp kunai, all heading for Sasuke. They landed at great speed and the force caused a cloud of dust ad dirt to rise.

The cloud of dust and dirt cleared, revealing Sasuke. He was lying on his stomach, with kunai lodged into his back, arms, and legs and all over the ground surrounding him. The Uchiha survivor didn't move, breath or show any signs of life. Sakura gulped, noticing how similar this was to the bridge incident not too long ago.

"S-Sasuke?" She whispered. "Sasuke!" The girl called as she ran to her fallen comrade.

[--

"Don't just stand there like a fool!" The ninja said to Naruto as he moved his kunai closer to Moegi. "Hurry up and get the scroll."

"Oh, yeah right. And what happens if I say no?" Naruto challenged daringly, as if he had a few extra tricks up his sleeves left over from his pre-Genin prank-pulling days.

"Then I guess you don't car what happens to this girl." The ninja threatened, moving closer to Moegi yet again.

"What girl? All I see are two dummies." Naruto mock. "You and the one next to you made of straw." He concluded.

"What?" The ninja growled. "Where's she go?!" He demanded, looking up from the straw training dummy to the tree, where Naruto stood with his hand on Moegi's shoulder.

"She's right here, with the greatest ninja in the world!" Naruto boasted, looking down on his enemy. Moegi looked up at her saviour with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's you, boss." Moegi stated. "You're my hero."

"The Bunshin jutsu?" His enemy growled. "I'll waste you, punk!"

"You just don't know when you're out-classed!" Naruto's clone stated, throwing a net over the Rain-nin. Three other Narutos ran at him and jumped up, poofing away in a cloud of smoke. That left only one Naruto, the real one, sitting on top of his defeated enemy.

"Hey, boss!" Konohamaru called as he and the other two boys ran into view. "We're here!" He stated obviously.

"Yeah, well it's about time, you guys." Naruto stated, looking back at them as Moegi ran to Konohamaru and hugged him.

"Konohamaru! I was really scared!" She gushed. Konohamaru rubbed her forehead in a way of comforting the fear-filled girl.

"Okay, it's aright." He soothed as Udon and Inari ran right to Naruto and the Hidden Rain ninja.

"Did you catch him, boss?" Udon asked.

"Can we see him?" Inari followed, peering curiously at Naruto. The latter got up from his catch and grinned.

"Sure, he's right here." Naruto stated. "I'll show you what he…huh?" He trailed off, looking behind him to see two big rock were the ninja once was.

"Hey! He used the Kawarimi jutsu on you!" Konohamaru pointed out.

"Copycat!" Naruto yelled. "I used that on him!"

"You let him get away, baka!" Inari shouted. "Sakura-nee-sama would have never done that!" He accused. Behind a tree not too far away, the ninja was in thought.

"I see." He mused.

[--

Sakura shook Sasuke's shoulders and back, as if she were trying to wake him up. It was a sad sight to see that kunoichi acting as if her dead team mate were only sleeping or trying to trick her. However, she cried no tears and didn't let go of a single sob. The enemy ninja who did that to Sasuke just watched the upsetting display.

"Ahahaha! He finished!" He stated almost proudly. "And that's just how you'll end up…if you take the Chunin exams."

"Sasuke…I-I…I'm_not_ an IDIOT!" Sakura yelled. "I saw right through that cheap genjutsu from the first moment. Didn't anyone tell you that I master in genjutsu over ninjutsu and taijutsu?"

"What?" The man asked in surprise when she turned to him and yelled her previous statement.

"Sasuke confessing his 'love'? That's unlikely from the start." She scoffed as she crossed her arms. "And then the whole 'get lost, unless you wanna die' thing just wasn't something Sasuke would say. And one more thing, he knows about my kekkei genkai. Very few people know of it, actually, but you should read up on Harunos before trying to trick one, baka. You made a lot of foolish mistakes."

"Are you calling me a fool?" He growled.

"I _would_ if you were really here." Sakura stated. "But you're just an illusion. The real ninja ran off like a coward, so you're just the illusion of a coward!" She accused.

"Ahahaha! Are you _sure_ I'm not real?!" He yelled, throwing the umbrella at her. Sakura walked forwards and the umbrella went right through her, obviously a fake.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She smirked. The ninja laughed like he and Sakura were old friends, sharing a joke or something.

"Just what I'd expect from a kunoichi trained by Kakashi." He chuckled as he stared at her. "But the Chunin examinations will be mere than mere illusions. We'll see if you can cut it!" He yelled, disappearing into thin air as the genjutsu dropped.

"Like I learnt that from Kakashi! I got that from Tsuki and Taiyoo playing all those tricks on me!" Sakura yelled, even though the man probably wouldn't hear her. "Bring it on! Yeah! Chunin exams! Big bad Chunin exams!"

[--

Sasuke kicked back the Rain-nin who attacked him and as the older man skidded to a stop, he landed gracefully on the ground. Looking down on the defeated ninja, Sasuke scowled.

"Stay out of our village." He warned monotonously.

[--

Kakashi sat on one of the many high roofs in Konoha, looking down on the village in its nocturnal phase. He watched as clouds rolled passed the almost full moon, all in an assortment of different shapes but the same grey, stormy colour. The Rain-nin who had been attacking the Genin appeared behind him, but Kakashi didn't seem alarmed in the slightest.

"So…how did it go?" Kakashi asked casually.

"They all made it." He replied gruffly. "All nine Genin, your squad and the others. All of them proved themselves ready for the exam." A puff of smoke surrounded him and be became Iruka. "You were right, Kakashi, they're good. They've all developed very impressive skills."

"Hmm." Kakashi acknowledged. "But the Chunin examinations can break anyone. We'll see if they can tough it out."

[--

Three kunai hit a practice dummy in critical points, joining a lot more in the same target. They were all precise hits, not one of them straying too far from the point or weakly lodged in the wooden dummy. A bandaged hand rested on the board by one of the kunai as the boy the hand belonged to began to speak.

"Did you hear? We are going to have rookies at the exams." He stated, pronouncing every word with extreme accuracy. "First year Genin. That has not happened in five years."

"No way." A girl said as she spun a kunai in her hand. "I bet it's just some Jounin trying to boost their egos." She assured them.

"No. There is more to the story than that. Three of them are from Kakashi's squad." He stated. Once we get a good look at this boy, we see that he has black hair in a bowl-cut, round fishy eyes and big, bushy eyebrows. He wore a skin-tight spandex suit in the colour green with his Hatei-ate on as a belt with red cloth, bandages coving his hands and orange legwarmers.

"Huh…interesting." The second boy stated as he meditated. The girl, who was a few feet in front of him, spun her kunai in her hand as she listened to the boys talk. She wore baggy, forest-green trousers, a pink Chinese-style top and had her chocolate hair in two buns with her Hatei-ate around her forehead as her warm brown eyes looked at her perfect strike.

"But not very." She sighed, throwing the kunai at the target above the mediator's head. He, remaining calm while sitting in his meditative stance, had long brown hair tied loosely at the bottom and striking white eyes. His Hatei-ate had straps on the sides and was tied around his forehead. He wore a crème shirt with sleeves that ended at his elbows and straps going up the front with plain, knee-length black shorts. Both his right arm and leg were wrapped tightly in bandages.

"Either way, it's too bad for them." The brunette boy mused.

[--

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called from the front of the academy as the pinkette came into view. "H-Hey, you're late." He noticed. Sakura looked up at him and forced the sharpness out of her eyes. On her cheek was a small but deep cut—which both Naruto and Sasuke noticed—but they said nothing.

"Yeah, I had to drop Inari off with his babysitter." She shrugged. "So, um, morning Naruto, Sasuke." Sakura greeted as she looked at them. When her eyes landed on Sasuke, the image of him with kunai stuck deeply into his body forced its way into her mind, but she threw it out soon after.

"Morning." Sasuke grunted, narrowing his eyes at Sakura. _'What's up with her? She seems…I don't know, shaky or something.'_ He noted.

[--

Inside the academy, crowds of Genin were watching as one boy got beaten up for trying to enter the room marked '301'. No one helped him, but most did comment to the people around them how the treatment of him was harsh. Sakura led Naruto and Sasuke into the hallway and they watched as a boy in green spandex got knocked back and a girl with her hair in buns helped him.

"Tch. You're thinking of taking the Chunin exams but you can't even get passed us?" A boy with brown hair and his Hatei-ate on as a bandana snorted. "Why don't you just give up now before you get hurt?"

"Cha, yeah. I think I hear your mommy calling ya." His friend, with tanner skin and spiked black hair, scoffed.

"Please let us through. We're supposed to go in there." The girl asked, getting up and walking towards them. Sakura frowned when the guy with the black hair punched her in the face, sending her to the ground next to the green-wearing boy.

"That's harsh." One Genin stated.

"Yeah." Another agreed.

"Did you say 'harsh', or do my ears deceive me?" The spiky haired boy mocked to the crowd. "Don't kid yourself. We're being nice by comparison. The exams are gonna make _this_ look like a picnic."

"Some of you won't survive the exams." His friend picked up. "Some of you will be marked for life and some of you may go crazy. For Chunin it's always life of death."

"You think it's a joke?" The other asked. "Chunin are all qualified to _lead_ missions. The lived of your squad members are in your hands, so you better be tough enough to take the heat. Delicate little girls…don't belong here. Pff." He snorted.

"We're just thinning out the heard. You won't pass anyway, so go home and play with your dolls." He mocked.

"Beautiful speech…if you were trying to scare academy students." Sakura scoffed. The crowd parted for her and the boys on her team, so they walked forwards and stood a little way from the boy in green spandex and his team.

"You got something to say, girly?" The boy with the bandana asked her.

"Just that there are several things wrong with that speech." Sakura informed him, sounding as innocent as she could manage. "Firstly, and I'm sure my team mates will back me up on this one, I'm already so insane that these exams will seem normal for me."

"True." Sasuke smirked, looking around at the worried and slightly scared faces of some of the Genin.

"Second, everyone here is _already_ in a situation of life or death." She continued to say. "As soon as you enter the academy, you risk attacks on yourself, your friends and your family every day of your life."

"Yeah! I've almost been killed recently, Dattebayo!" Naruto agreed.

"And finally, I can't stand the heat. It's horrible. Well, that's not really my point, but still." She shrugged, earning a few laughs from the crowd. "But seriously, my third point is that no one will pass because no one is going to be able to hand in there forms here on the second floor." She sighed.

"What's she talking about?" One person whispered as the boy in green, the girl and the boy with white eyes watched her.

"We _are_ on the third floor, not the second." Another continued.

"You think you're on the third floor? As if!" Sakura scoffed. "Would you do the honours?" She asked Sasuke, stepping aside and giving a hand gesture like a butler would when saying 'right this way'.

"This is a genjutsu, and a weak one at that." Sasuke nodded.

"Well, well." The spiky haired one sneered.

"So, you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" His partner asked. The genjutsu was lifted and the '301' sign above the door changed into '201'. Sounds of amazement at the skill of the two passed through the crowd and the two bullies just scoffed.

"Huh. Well, aren't you the smart ones. So you noticed the illusion." Mr Spikes laughed. "Now let's see you deal with this!" He yelled, twisting around and aiming a kick at Sasuke. The latter swung round and readied his own leg to kick him back.

Noticing the attacks, the guy in green spandex rose from the ground and with speed that greatly surpassed Sakura's own, he grabbed the offending two legs with his bare hands. Sneering, Sasuke looked at the captured leg that was still in the grasp of the spandex-clad boy.

'_How did he do that?'_ Sakura wondered as she stared at the boy. _'I thought that he was a weakling getting knocked around like he was, but, he's faster than me!'_ She recognised without denying the fact.

The boy released the legs and the bully flipped back to his friend. Scoffing at the boy who stopped him, him and his partner left the room on their own and walked through another door. Sasuke put his foot down and stared at the strange boy's hand, which had stopped his most powerful kick before he could even register that he had been halted in his attack.

'_He stopped my kick.'_ Sasuke acknowledged. _'That's some chakra he has in his arm.'_

"Hey, what happened to the plan?" The other boy from the spandex-boy's team asked. "I thought that _you_ were the one who said to keep a low profile and not let anyone see your skill level." He said.

"I know, but…" He trailed off, looking at Sakura with a heavy blush and a fist clenched with determination.

"Never mind." The girl sighed. "It's over. Forget it." She said, shaking her head.

'_Hey, what happened to the bruises he had before? They're gone.'_ Sasuke noticed. _'Were they fakes?'_ He wondered. Sasuke watched the strange eyebrow boy as he walked over to Sakura and towered over her by three or four inches.

"My name is Rock Lee." He stated proudly. "You are Sakura, right?"

"How…How do you know my name?" She asked suspiciously. Lee gave her a 'thumbs up' and grinned, closing one eye in a wink with his blush still in place, thus assuming the full 'good-guy' pose.

"Please be my girlfriend!" He asked, not noticing the two glares he was getting from her team. "I vow to protect you with my life." The boy added as his tooth pinged.

"How about…no." She deadpanned. Lee dropped the grin, but remained in the pose.

"Why?" He asked, mortified.

"Because you're a weirdo." Sakura stated bluntly. Lee's head dropped as Naruto laughed at him and Sasuke let go of the breath he had been holding as a sigh of relief. Sakura edged away from Lee and walked over to Sasuke, stopping next to him.

"Hey." He nodded. "What a freak." Sasuke added, gesturing to Lee.

"Tell me about it." Sakura agreed.

"Hey you. Over here." A boy called to Sasuke and Sakura. They turned to see the white-eyed team mate of Lee.

"Can we help you?" Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"What're your names?" He asked. Sasuke looked at Sakura and she swept a hand in the brunette's direction, gesturing for Sasuke to go ahead.

'_Again?! It's always about Sasuke!'_ Naruto yelled mentally.

"It's common curtsey to give your own name before asking someone else's." Sasuke told him, as if lecturing him on manners.

"Hey, you're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you anyway?" The boy continued as if Sasuke hadn't just insulted his manners.

"You shouldn't ask a lady to reveal her age. Shame on you." Sakura scolded, getting a frown out of the boy.

"What about you?" He asked, turning to Sasuke.

"I'm not obliged to answer." Sasuke stated, getting another frown.

"What's that?" The boy asked, getting angry from being smart-mouthed by both of the rookie Genin.

'_Cute.'_ The girl thought with a small blush and a giggle. Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to get Naruto, but found him and the Lee-boy resting a hand against the wall in a depression that you would only find in an anime.

"A weirdo?" Lee asked himself sadly.

"Argh, no one wants to know my name." Naruto stated in the same way.

"Aww, I know your name, Naruto." Sakura soothed, getting a grin out of the boy. "Now come on, I'm meeting Hinata chan upstairs!" She added, not seeing the brunette stiffen at the name 'Hinata'.

[--

"Hm. So that's the bunch of misfits that Kakashi and Gai have been going on about." One of the bullies stated from behind a door. "I guessed that they passed their first test; getting their applications through." He mused.

"Right." The one with spiked hair snorted as they turned from the Genin and preformed the tiger seal. A cloud of smoke later and the bullies were replaced with older versions of themselves in grey uniforms. "It looks like the exams are gonna be fun this year." He stated, amused.

"Yeah, for us, but maybe not for them." The other joked.

[--

Team seven were walking up the stairs to get to the third floor from the second, all three of them thinking their own thoughts.

'_So, this is the __**big**__-__**bad**__ Chunin exam, huh?'_ Sasuke thought to himself with a smirk._ 'Tch. It's a freak show!'_ He added as images of that brunette from before, Lee and Gaara passed through his mind.

[--

"Well, do you sense her?" One boy asked his two comrades.

"Yes! She's here!" Another cheered.

"Finally." The last one sighed in relief.

"We found you." The muttered in union.


	12. Chunin Challenge: Rock Lee vs Sasuke

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but it's nearly christmas and I'm a bit busy. So, I just wanted to give you this before I took a break for Christmas. Have a nice Christmas and a happy new year, and I'll be sure to get the next chapter up as soon as I can :D**  


Chapter Twelve

Chunin Challenge: Rock Lee vs. Sasuke

"Hey you. Over here." A boy called to Sasuke and Sakura. They turned to see the white-eyed team mate of Lee. "What're your names?" He asked with a sour tone. Sasuke looked at Sakura and she swept a hand in the brunette's direction, gesturing for Sasuke to go ahead.

"It's common curtsey to give your own name before asking someone else's." Sasuke told him, as if lecturing him on manners.

"Hey, you're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you anyway?" The boy continued as if Sasuke hadn't just insulted his manners.

"You shouldn't ask a lady to reveal her age. Shame on you." Sakura scolded, getting a frown out of the boy.

"I'm not obliged to answer." Sasuke stated, getting another frown.

"What's that?" The boy asked, getting angry from being smart-mouthed by both of the rookie Genin.

'_Cute.'_ The girl thought with a small blush and a giggle. Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to get Naruto, but found him and the Lee-boy resting a hand against the wall in a depression that you would only find in an anime.

[--

"Hm. So that's the bunch of misfits that Kakashi and Gai have been going on about." One of the bullies stated from behind a door. "I guessed that they passed their first test; getting their applications through." He mused.

"Right." The one with spiked hair snorted as they turned from the Genin and preformed the tiger seal. A cloud of smoke later and the bullies were replaced with older versions of themselves in grey uniforms. "It looks like the exams are gonna be fun this year." He stated, amused.

"Yeah, for us, but maybe not for them." The other joked.

[--

"Well, do you sense her?" One boy asked his two comrades.

"Yes! She's here!" Another cheered.

"Finally." The last one sighed in relief.

"We found you." The three muttered in union.

[--

"Now come on, I'm meeting Hinata-chan upstairs!" She added, not seeing the brunette stiffen at the name 'Hinata'. He watched as the pinkette practically _dragged_ her team mates away, his eyes lingering on her and the boy in the blue shirt.

"Hey, quit pulling me, Sakura!" Sasuke complained.

"Deal with it, Sasuke. Naruto's not complaining." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

'_Sasuke…of the Uchiha clan…and Sakura…the one who turned up one day without a word of where she came from.'_ The brunette noted, only looking away from them when they turned a corner. Lee then looked around at him, seeing him watching were team seven had left.

"They're pretty bold. You gonna challenge them?" The girl asked her team mate, smiling. _'That girl seemed strong. I might just find a decent kunoichi battle with her around.'_ She noticed to herself.

"Hm." The brunette grunted in reply to the girl, who rolled her eyes at his typical behaviour. She and the boy walked ahead, leaving Lee behind them as he too looked at where Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke had gone.

"Lee, what are you waiting for? We're supposed to check in." The girl stated, turning to face the green-clad boy as she and the brunette stopped in their tracks. She smiled at him.

"I will catch up with you two in a moment. You do not need to wait for me, I just need to check something." He stated, turning and walking in the opposite direction to where his team were headed.

"What's up with Lee?" The girl asked, looking back at her other team mate in question. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I have no idea." He told her as he walked on towards the check in room where the others had gone. She shrugged and hurried after him, hoping that Lee wouldn't get in too much trouble.

[--

Team seven walked through a large training room, towards room 301, where they were told to check in five days ago. Sakura and Naruto were fighting, as usual, and Sasuke was huffing about not getting any attention, as usual.

"Hey you! The boy with the attitude!" A well-spoken voice called out from the balcony above them. "Hold on!" He called again, causing team seven to pull to a halt and turn around, looking for the one who spoke. Surprise, surprise! It was Lee.

"What do you want?" Sasuke grunted. It was pretty obvious that Lee was talking to him because Sakura isn't a boy and Naruto's attitude is a lot less noticeable than his own.

"I want to fight you. Right here and right now." Lee stated, not blinking or planning to take back his challenge.

"You wanna fight me here and now, huh?" Sasuke mused, not at all bothered by the statement.

"Yes." Lee replied, jumping over the balcony and landing on his knees and hand in front of the ninja. He straightened up and pointed his thumb at himself. "My name is Rock Lee. You said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right?" He remembered, pointing at Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn. So you know me." He stated. Lee got into a fighting stance than none of the ninja, not even Sakura, recognised.

"I challenge you." Lee claimed. "Everyone is always talking about the Uchiha clan, and how great they are. I want to see if it is true. I figured that _you_ would be a good test for me." He informed them surely. "And also…" Lee trailed off, his gaze turning to Sakura and a new blush staining his cheeks.

"Uhhhhhh." Sakura said, her mouth open and a confused look in her eye.

"Oh, Sakura!" Lee began confidently. "…I love you!" He confessed. Sakura was taken aback with a yell of protest.

"Wha-! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Those eyebrows! They should be illegal! And those clothes! No! No! No! Why does it have to be a freak who loves me? Life is cruel!" She yelled, her eyes switching between yellow—fear—and dark blue—depression. She shivered as if she were cold and clung onto Naruto's arm, as if he would save her.

"You are an angel, sent from heaven." Lee claimed. He winked and a floating red heart appeared. The boy blew it to her, like he was blowing a kiss.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Sakura's eyes were now remaining yellow as she yelled out in fear and dodged it. The heart hit the stone pillar behind her and she sighed in relief.

"That was a good move, but let me see you dodge this!" He stated, blowing at least twenty more.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she swung around and began to dodge them all, but there were more to come and…wait, they're hearts!

'_**Why the heck are we dodging these like kunai?!'**_ Inner Sakura screeched. _**'You are overreacting, Fear-chan!'**_ She yelled at the yellow-eyed emotion who had taken over outer-Sakura's body.

'_They're from LEE!'_ She screamed.

'_**Oh yeah…DODGE FOR YOUR LIFE!'**_ Inner cheered, hiding behind Desire.

It looked almost as if she were dancing as she dodged every heart, careful to not let one even graze her jumper. One by one, the hearts hit the stone pillar behind her and she moved to dodge another. The last one was a close call, but she managed to get away from it by leaping up, twisting in mid air to avoid three mini-hearts that he had thrown at the last minuet, and she landed behind Naruto.

"Save me!" Fear yelled. Naruto nodded numbly, but she soon leapt out from behind his protective form, her eyes turning red.

"HEY! Keep your creepy little valentines to yourself! I was dodging for my life there!" Rage screamed at him as Sakura fought to take control. When she did and her eyes were back to the normal shade of green she called her own, she sighed and leant her back against Naruto's shoulder from the tiring process of fighting her emotions…literally.

"You do not have to be so negative, Sakura." Lee stated in his depressed mode, not taking any notice of how her eyes changed colour. One person, who had conveniently placed themselves in she shadows, noticed the change all too well.

'_Gah! He wants to fight Sasuke?!'_ Naruto yelled mentally when Sakura stopped leaning on him. _'It's always Sasuke! I'm just as good as he is. No, I'm better than that teme!'_

"You've heard of the Uchiha clan, and yet you're challenging me?" Sasuke asked Lee, ignoring the freaky heart things and Sakura's temporary loss of control.

"Indeed." Lee nodded.

"You must be even more psycho than you look…if that's possible. You wanna know more about my clan? Then I'll teach you." He promised darkly. "The hard way." He concluded. Lee grinned and sunk back into his odd fighting stance.

"Bring it on." Lee stated confidently. _'Excellent. A match up against the number one male rookie. I will draw him out and get him to reveal his technique, and I will prove myself to you, Gai-sensei!'_

"Hold it!" Naruto yelled out to the others in the room, not liking the current circumstances one little bit. It was always about Sasuke and, even though he didn't hold it against her, Sakura. At least she didn't rub it in his face that she was more popular, like the Uchiha did.

"What is it?" Lee asked impatiently. Naruto glared at the green-boy, not letting his eyes leave him in all his bushy-eyebrow glory. The blonde, trying to look 'cool', pursed his lips.

"I get him first, teme. This weirdo is mine." Naruto said to Sasuke, not looking at the cockatoo-haired boy as he said it.

"Go for it." Sasuke said as Naruto got ready to charge.

"Watch, Sakura-chan, it'll take me two minuets to have this guy begging for mercy." Naruto stated with all the confidence in the world.

"No, thank you." Lee said to him. "Right now, the only one I want to fight is Uchiha." He claimed. Sakura noticed the look in Naruto's eyes and quickly walked to him, whispering something in his ear. Naruto pouted, but nodded none-the-less.

"Yeah? Well, I've got news for you, fuzzy-brows." He thought over what Sakura said and decided to meet her half-way. Naruto, despite what she had said, ran at the green-boy. "Sasuke can't compare to me, Dattebayo!"

With his usual battle-cry, Naruto leapt up to punch Lee right in the cheek, but the latter didn't move out of his stance. Pulling back his fist, Naruto growled and hesitated as he remembered what Sakura had whispered to him.

[--

"_Don't let him see your true strength. Don't fight." Sakura warned him, obviously sensing something about the boy that neither Naruto nor Sasuke could sense. Naruto pouted, but nodded none-the-less._

[--

'_Fine…just this once.'_ Naruto thought as he stopped his fist and slowed his attack. This was all it took and Lee found a flaw in his punch. The green-nin moved his hand and poked Naruto's wrist, sending the boy down. But Naruto wasn't the type to give up. He put both hands on the ground and aimed a slow kick at Lee, only to have him dodge and sink to the floor.

"Konoha Reppu!" He yelled, kicking Naruto's arms and sending the boy across the floor, spinning like a kicked tortoise on his back. Naruto hit the wall a few metres from Lee and wished he didn't do as Sakura asked. He sunk to the floor, dizzy.

'_Whoa. He's better than he looks, but thank you for doing as I asked, Naruto. Even if you __**did**__ fight him when I said not to, you still held back enough for him to think you're weaker than you truly are.'_ Sakura thought, looking at the fallen blonde. Lee resumed the original fighting stance for the third time and looked at Sasuke.

"Just learn to accept it. You have no chance against me. Your skills are inferior." Lee stated calmly. "You see, Sasuke, out of all the top Konoha Genin, I am the best." He boasted. "Fight me and I will prove it to you."

Sasuke looked at Lee, narrowing his eyes. He recalled the boy's impressive move from earlier as well, when they fist saw him to be more than some weak boy who got knocked around by other people.

[--

_Noticing the attacks, the guy in green spandex rose from the ground and with speed that greatly surpassed Sakura's own, he grabbed the offending two legs with his bare hands. Sneering, Sasuke looked at the captured leg that was still in the grasp of the spandex-clad boy._

_The boy released the legs and the bully flipped back to his friend. Scoffing at the boy who stopped him, him and his partner left the room on their own and walked through another door. Sasuke put his foot down and stared at the strange boy's hand, which had stopped his most powerful kick before he could even register that he had been halted in his attack._

'He stopped my kick.'_ Sasuke acknowledged. _'That's some chakra he has in his arm.'

[--

Sasuke looked up and smirked, capturing the attention of Sakura, who was previously wondering whether she should go and help Naruto. She looked at him in question and he turned his head slightly to look at her, still smirking.

"You mind if I take him?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shrugged, running towards Lee. He got ready to dodge, block or counter any and all attacks he could think of, only to have her pink hair blow beside him and a strong scent of snow to enter his nose as she ran passed him.

"Be my guest." Sakura replied to Sasuke and she helped Naruto sit up properly and check to see if he was okay.

"Okay then. This should be fun. Let's do it." He agreed. Sakura rolled her eyes at the acceptance.

"Stupid Uchiha pride." She muttered, getting a chuckle out of the blonde next to her.

"Nah, I think it's just teme." He replied, half-joking and half-serious. The pinkette rolled her eyes again and looked up at the clock, her eyes widening when she saw that they only had a short amount of time to get registered.

"There's no time, Sasuke." She told him, frowning at the clock. "We've got to register by three o'clock. That's less than half and hour."

"Relax." He told her. "This'll all be over in…five seconds." Sasuke stated, running forwards towards Lee.

'_Here he comes.'_ Lee noticed, getting tensed and ready for fighting against the Uchiha. _'Please forgive me, Gai-sensei. I may have to break the rules and use __**that**__ jutsu.'_ He stated mentally as Sasuke tried to punch him, but he seemingly vanished.

Sasuke straightened up and everything happened in less than a few seconds. Lee was above him, Sasuke was bewildered, the person in the shadows was yawning now that he couldn't see Sakura and Sakura and Naruto were watching the fight commence.

"Konoha senpu!" Lee yelled. He swept a high kick at Sasuke, who barely dodged, then lowered to the ground and aimed another kick.

'_I'm not moving fast enough. I've got to block.'_ Sasuke thought with mild panic. He moved his arms up to block the attack. Lee noticed his plan and lifted his free hand to perform the tiger seal._'What?'_ Sasuke wondered, not even dropping his guard for an instant. That was proven to be useless, as he still gained a foot in his face.

The Uchiha was hit right across the room and skidded to a halt on his side far from Lee and his kicks of doom. His body shook once and Lee stood straight, the person in the shadow leaning forwards slightly to get a better look at the battle. His forest green eyes glinted.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked himself as he struggled to get up again after the fall.

'_He had his guard up…but Lee went right threw it! I'll have to keep an eye on this one.'_ Sakura thought, her eyes narrowing in Lee's direction.

'_He's using some technique to get to me…but what is it?'_ Sasuke wondered, getting up on his knees and elbows. _'A ninjutsu, perhaps? Or is it a genjutsu?_' He looked at Lee with a quick turn of his head, trying to guess the fighting stance his opponent was in.

'_As expected. He is coming back for more.'_ Lee noted, holding strong in his stance.

'_Hmm…okay, this is good. I have him right where I want him. This is my chance and I'm not going to waste it.'_ Sasuke nodded mentally. "I've been waiting to try this out." He smirked, his eyes shadowed as he straightened up and stood in front of Lee.

'_He's using…no way!'_ Sakura gasped. Sasuke lifted his head, his smirk still in place. His eyes were red, just as on the bridge._'Sharingan! He can use the Sharingan!'_ She recognised proudly.

'_So__**that**__ is the Sharingan.'_ Lee frowned.

'_Wait…who's that?!'_ Sakura wondered, looking above her again. There was a shift in the shadows in one corner, but nothing following that. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the shadow, recognising the chakra she just felt. It wasn't, however, anything like the chakra of the one who was supposed to be checking in on her soon.

'_Damn it! She saw me…just like my Sakura-chan.'_ The one from the shadows smiled under his conical straw hat. White bangs slipped in front of his eyes, but he blew them away once he met up with his team, consisting of two boys who also wore conical straw hats.

"Did you find anything?" One of them asked. the boy with the white bangs nodded.

"I saw_her_." He grinned as the other two copied his unseen expression.

[--

'_Ninjutsu or Genjutsu…what ever magic he's using…I'll see it now!'_ Sasuke thought as he concentrated his eyes on Lee. He picked up his feet and moved forwards with new found speed. Sakura's head snapped back from the shadows to watch Sasuke and Lee's fight with Naruto.

'_Sasuke's getting stronger every day…'_ She realised with a frown as Sasuke neared Lee. _'But Naruto…ah-ha! I know just what to do to help Naruto!'_ The girl nodded, looking at Sasuke again in enough time to see Lee kick him on the bottom of his chin and send him flying into the air.

'_Gah! He got around my guard again. But how? What kind of jutsu __**is**__ that, anyway?'_ Sasuke wondered as he continued through the air.

"You see, my technique is not ninjutsu _or_ genjutsu." Lee told them as he ran to where Sasuke would land. The latter landed on his knees on the ground. Using his left hand for balance, and Lee aimed another attack at him. he kicked Sasuke in the gut, and Sasuke aimed a punch at him, but Lee dodged too soon.

"Sasuke!" Naruto, who just woke up from that one attack Lee gave him, called out to his team mate, who was still losing his battle. Sasuke blocked Lee's fist, only to get a green-covered elbow in his stomach before he could dodge that. Sasuke backed off, clutching his stomach tightly in pain.

"You get it now?" Lee asked seriously. "I am using taijutsu. That means no tricks, Sasuke." He stated as he leapt up again, but he was still too fast for anyone to track with their eyes alone. Sasuke grunted and looked around a second after Lee appeared behind him. "It is just straight martial arts, nothing more." He informed them.

'_Ugh…taijutsu. No wonder I couldn't tell…I __**hate**__ taijutsu. And I completely __**suck**__ at it.'_ Sakura pouted, looked at Lee with a new sense of envy as the latter feeling sank into her eyes, making them a darker green and she glared.

"Why you-!?" Sasuke grunted as he spun around and aimed a fist at Lee, who was quick to move and dodge it. Still in front of him, Lee landed a few feet from where he once stood.

"I know your technique. Forget it. It will not work. Not on me." Lee stated confidently. "I know that you can see through your opponent's jutsu and it is all because that Sharingan gives you the ability to read his chakra and decipher his hand signs and movements. You can guess what he's going to do almost before he knows himself."

'_So…he knows about the Sharingan.'_ Sakura thought suspiciously.

"The problem is; taijutsu is a little bit different." Lee continued.

"Right…so what's your point?" Sasuke asked, planning his next attack while still trying to guess Lee's move too.

"I do not try to hide or disguise my moves. I do not have to. Even if you_can_ read them, you still cannot stop them. You are too slow." Lee told Sasuke bluntly. "Your _eyes_ may be fast enough to keep up with me, but if your body is too slow then what good does it do you?" He asked the Uchiha rhetorically.

"Grrrrrah!" Sasuke growled, not liking to be put down by the weirdo who tried to flirt with his team mate.

"You know what? Here is what I believe." The green-boy said. "There are two different kinds of ninja. Those like you who are born with talent and do not have to work at it." He stated. Sasuke had heard enough and charged at Lee. "And those like me, the ones who have to train every day of our lives!" He ended angrily.

"Shut up!" Sasuke roared, throwing a punch at Lee. The boy dodged and continued to mock Sasuke.

"The fact…of the matter is; your Sharingan…is the worst match…for my extreme taijutsu." He scowled as he continued to dodge Sasuke's petty blows. "Here is what I mean!" Lee stated, readying an attack.

'_I have to stop him!'_ Sasuke panicked, putting his arms up in defence. It was no use and Lee kicked his chin, sending him up into the air just like before. This time, however, he did not wait for Sasuke to land. Instead, Lee jumped up quickly and appeared under Sasuke, who was still flying in the air with his back to the ground.

"Kage Buyo." Sasuke recognised immediately, acting surprisingly calm about his vulnerable position.

"Good eye." Lee complimented. "Now I will prove my point." The boy flexed his hands and his bandages came undone. "That hard work beats out natural talent." He stated. Sasuke's eyes widened.

'_What's his next move?'_ The Uchiha enquired of his own, unknowing mind as he calculated the possibilities.

"You're finished!" Lee threatened. His round eyes widened when a red and orange wind-wheel fly by him fast and pinned the unravelled end of his bandage to the wall above Naruto and Sakura.

'_What the-?!'_ Sakura thought in alarm as she looked up at the brightly coloured 'weapon'. She then raised an eyebrow at it._'A…toy?'_

"This is bad." Lee frowned, looking in the direction it came from.

"Alright! That's enough, Lee." The one who had thrown it yelled. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see a…turtle? Yes, it was a turtle. A red one with yellow swirls and a Konoha Hatei-ate around his neck to be precise.

Lee, heeding the word of the turtle, flipped in the air and landed on his knees in front of the creature as Sasuke continued to fall in the air from the attack. The Uchiha boy looked as far as he could, but he couldn't see who was speaking to Lee because of his position in the air.

'_What…what now?'_ Sasuke asked himself. Sakura looked to her falling team mate and made a clone, since Naruto was still in her arms and she couldn't put him down quickly enough without hurting him. the clone ran in Sasuke's direction and caught him, lessening the bulk of the fall by letting Sasuke land on top of her. Once he was safely on the ground, the clone disappeared and Sasuke fell the small distance that was between her body and the floor, grunting as he did so.

'_He totally beat Sasuke.'_ Naruto thought as he looked at Lee._'Something happened while I was knocked out. What'd he do?!'_ Naruto wondered desperately, still staring at lee in wonderment.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Sakura called over to him, still holding Naruto in her arms. The blonde was in front of her, his lower back on her thighs, the rest of his back on her stomach and his head near her shoulder as her arms wrapped around his chest. Naruto blushed deeply as Sasuke narrowed his eyes as the blonde.

'_Sasuke looks really shaken up…he didn't even take the fall right.'_ Naruto noticed. _'But, more importantly, SAKURA-CHAN IS ALMOST HUGGING ME!'_ He cheered with a grin.

"You were watching us the whole time?" Lee asked in almost fear as he remained respectfully on his knees before the turtle.

"Of course." The red reptile replied. "That last technique is forbidden, and you know that."

'_He's talking…to a turtle.'_ Naruto stated, his left eye twitching a little. _'And it's…taking back…'_

"I am sorry…I did not mean to." Lee told the red creature as Naruto looked even more freaked out.

'_Now he's…apologising…to a turtle.'_ Naruto raised his eyebrow before coming to a conclusion. _'Could that be…his sensei?'_ He wondered, his mouth forming an '0' as he nodded at his own genius. Lee looked up to the turtle's eye, only to see it narrow. He freaked and stood up, stuttering excuses.

"Gah! I was not planning to use a forbidden jutsu…it is just…I-I was in the middle of a fight and—I mean…you understand!" Lee carried on and on, trying to find a good excuse.

"I'm right! It really is his sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. Sakura looked down at him with her eyebrow raised. She cleared her throat. "I mean…umm…err…I'm unconscious?" He squeaked.

"Yeah…and I'm in love with Sasuke." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and getting up, letting Naruto's head hit the floor. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't quiet get the sarcasm.

'_Oh no! Sakura-chan loves teme?!'_ He panicked. Then, seeing her half-lidded and un-amused eyes, he got that she was kidding. Naruto sighed in relief.

"Wait; didn't you say something, Naruto?" Sakura asked, frowning slightly as she walked over to Sasuke to see if he was okay. Naruto nodded and followed her.

"Well, that weird thing he's talking to is a turtle, right?" Naruto asked, pointing to the red and yellow creature.

"No duh." Sakura replied, crossing her arms over her chest and blowing her bangs out of her eyes. As she did so, her eyes latched onto the shadow again. _'Who was that earlier?'_ She wondered, narrowing her eyes again.

"Okay, so maybe that means that turtles can be sensei too!" Naruto stated in awe of his own intelligence.

"How the heck should I know?" She asked, wrinkling her nose in a cute way and pouting without really meaning to.

"You're a disgrace." The turtle stated. Lee closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame. "You think you'll get away with a bunch of lame excused like that? A shinobi _never_ reveals his techniques, unless it's absolutely necessary. It's such a basic rule; you should know it by now!"

"Forgive me, sir." Lee said in a disappointed tone. Sasuke wiped a speck of blood from the corner of his mouth as he looked over at Lee.

'_How could I lose to that __**freak**__?'_ He asked, a light pink dusting his cheeks when he looked over at Sakura. _'And in front of Sakura too! Now she'll think that I'm some weakling!'_ The Uchiha growled, looking back at the one who shamed him.

"Are you prepared to take the punishment for your actions?" The turtle asked Lee, who was still looking down in shame.

"I…Yes, sir." He sighed, seeing no point in more excuses.

"Alright then, please come out…Gai-sensei!" The reptile introduced as a cloud of smoke appeared on his back. When the smoke cleared, there looked like an older version of Lee with less-freaky eyes, bigger eyebrows, taller and a Jounin vest. He had his left hand in front of his face, making a circle with his fingers around his eye, and his right hand above his head.

"Hey! What's shaking?" He asked joyfully. "How you doing everybody? Life treating you good?" The man continued.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Genin of team seven yelled together as Sakura's eyes turned yellow and they clung together in fear. Naruto was hugging around Sakura's waist, Sasuke clutching her arm and Sakura burying her head in Naruto's jacket.

"He's go the biggest eyebrows yet! They're almost alive!" Naruto yelled out as Sakura's eyes became their natural green hue again. Only when they realised their position did they let go of each other—not forgetting the blush, even on Sakura—and the three looked at anything but their team mates.

"Hi, lady." He said in a 'seducing' tone as he pointed his thumb at himself, grinned and added a tooth 'ping' to go with it.

"Too weird." Sakura stated with a wrinkled nose as her left eye twitched.

"So_that's_ where Lee gets it from." Naruto stated, not noticing the growing anger mark on Lee's head. "Same soup-bowl-haircut and even _bushier_ eyebrows! Dattebayo!"

"Hey! Do not insult Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled, turning to face Naruto. "He is one of the greatest men in the entire world!"

"Well, excuse me for not noticing his _greatness_! I was too busy watching him crawl out from under a turtle!" Naruto screamed back with just as much annoyance in his voice.

"He did not _crawl_ out-!" Lee began, but Gai interrupted him.

"Give it a rest, Lee." Gai warned, waving his had in dismissal.

"Ah…yes, sir." He said in surrender, turning to face his sensei again.

"Now for your punishment. Ahhhhhhhhh!" He cried, rolling back his fist and punching Lee across the floor. "You little fool!" Gai yelled as he stuck Lee on the cheek.

Lee landed and Gai walked to him. The bandage around Lee's hand was still attached to the wall via a wind-wheel, so he couldn't fall beyond the boundaries of the length of bandage. Gai, once he was close to Lee, knelt down next to his student. Lee pushed himself up on his knees, feeling pain from the hit.

"I'm sorry, Lee. But…it's for your own good." Gai said with a crack in his voice, indicating forced down sobbing.

"Gai-….sensei." Lee acknowledged. The background became a sunset—don't ask how, because I have no idea—and both had tears running down their faces to add to the drama.

"Lee…" Gai sobbed.

"Oh, sensei…I am…so sorry!" Lee cried.

"Alright, it's over. You don't need to say any more." Gai assured his look-alike student. Lee leapt forwards and hugged his sensei, who returned the embrace.

"Sensei!" Lee sobbed as his sensei cried with him. A wave crashed onto the rocks by the sunset, creating the perfect father-son moment. Or, a very creepy clone-love moment, which is how team seven saw it.

"Guh!" Naruto grunted as he tried not to vomit.

"Uhhhhhh." Sakura moaned, holding her stomach to keep in her breakfast.

'_How can I lose to someone __**that lame**__?!'_ Sasuke fumed, also trying to keep down his food.

"It's okay…I understand." Gai promised as the sunset vanished and they were back in the room. The turtle was also holding tears on his face in just as much sorrow as Gai and Lee.

"I-I'm s-sorry, sensei." Lee stuttered through his tears.

"Well, actually it's kinda sweet, the way they're all huggy and stuff." The blonde of team seven acknowledged, smiling at Sakura while pointing to Lee and Gai.

"You_have_ to be kidding! They're both freaks!" Sakura shuddered.

"But it's good to hug your friends or team mates or boys with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes and an orange jumper." Naruto grinned innocently, hinting his goal.

"Fine, one hug." Sakura said with a sigh. Naruto whelped with joy and crushed her in his arms in a very tight hug, knowing that he might now get another one. "Na…Naruto! I-I ca-can't breath!" She gasped.

"Oops…sorry." Naruto apologised, putting her down and rubbing the back of his head with a blush.

"Don't worry Lee." Gai said as he released Lee from his hug. "You're just caught in the in between. You're too old to be called a boy…but still too young to be called a man."

"You are so good to me," Lee stated with tears still on his face. "Gai-sensei."

"Now, take off." Gai said, pointing away from him. "I want you to give me one hundred laps around the practice field. Show me what you got!"

"Yes sir! No problem." Lee assured.

"Run into the setting sun." Gai continued as the sunset mysteriously reappeared. "Run and suffer…but don't mess up your hair." He added quietly as an afterthought. Gai smiled with a tooth ping as Lee wiped his face from the tears and did the same. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Lee cheered.

"Hey, wait a minuet! We're not finished here!" Naruto yelled. "You guys can't just take off like that!"

"And what about the Chunin exams?" Sakura added. "There's no time for fooling around." She told them seriously.

"Uh…Oh right! I forgot about that." Gai said nervously. He turned to his student and cleared his throat. "Lee, you now only disobeyed the rule against fighting, but you disrupted the Chunin exams. I think that warrants a slightly more severe punishment, don't you?"

"Yes, sir!" Lee agreed with a salute.

"Let's say _five_ hundred laps! How does that sound?" Gai asked, putting on hand on his hip and the other in the air.

"Outstanding, sir." Lee nodded.

"They're insane." Sakura stated bluntly.

"Probably. But never mind them, Sakura-chan, what's the deal with that turtle anyway?" The blonde asked, pointing to the aforementioned creature.

'_This must be Kakashi's squad.'_ Gai noticed, looking up at the pinkette, who was speaking with the blonde, and the freaked-out brooder. _'I'll check them out.'_ He nodded. Team seven noticed him looking at them and Sakura twitched as gritted his teeth and let his eye twitch.

"Ah! He's looking at us!" Naruto yelled, clinging onto Sakura's arm.

"Hey! One hug only, brat!" Sakura screamed at him, pushing him off.

"Brat?" Naruto echoed.

"You _are_ younger then me." She stated.

"Only by a few moths, though!" The blonde defended himself. Sakura was going to reply, but went back to twitching when Gai didn't look away from the three of them.

"Tell me. How is Kakashi-sensei?" Gai asked them.

"Do you know him?" Sasuke asked, recovering from his freaking-out-ness.

"Do I know Kakashi?" Gai mused. "Well, people say…he and I are arch rivals for all eternity." He stated.

"No way!" Naruto and Sakura yelled at the same time. Lee's eye twitched.

"How dare you!" He called out to them. "If Gai-sensei says that it is true, then-!"

"Let is slide, Lee." Gai waved off. "A ninja's actions always speak louder than words." He said with a tooth ping. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked at the turtle, Lee and Gai. He blinked once and Gai was gone, causing him to gasp.

'_Where-?'_ He began, but was cut off when Gai spoke from behind him and his team.

"I reckon its fifty wins and forty nine losses, which his one better than his, by the way." Gai nodded to himself. The team gasped and spun around to face the man who appeared behind them in a matter of milliseconds.

"What? You're kidding!" Naruto gushed in disbelief. "How'd he beat Kakashi?" He asked. Gai grinned and pointed his thumb at himself again.

"The fact is, I'm stronger than Kakashi." Gai grinned. "And faster." He added at the last minuet with a tooth ping that the team was now beginning to recognise him by.

'_His speed is incredible.'_ Sasuke noted as he looked at Gai. _'He's defiantly faster than Kakashi. Is he even human?'_

"You see? Gai-sensei is the best there is!" Lee stated proudly.

"I'm sorry for the trouble Lee caused you." Gai apologised, mainly looking at the beat-up Sasuke. "Please, look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology. Also notice my handsome manly features." He grinned.

'_He claims he's better than Kakashi.'_ Sasuke ticked off in his mind. _'Could that be true? Ahh! I don't think he's making this up.'_

"Lee, you should accompany these fine young ninja to the classroom, right now." Gai ordered, throwing a kunai at the wind-wheel that had pinned Lee to the wall. It knocked the wheel off the wall and released Lee's bandage. Naruto looked over to Lee and saw his unwrapped hand in shock. It was covered in scars, cuts and bruises.

'_Huh? His hands…'_ Naruto thought as Lee wrapped his bandages back into their proper place.

"Remember to give it your best! Lee, farewell." Gai bid as he saluted his pupil.

"Yes, sir!" Lee promised. Gai grinned again and disappeared in a puff of smoke, just like Kakashi would. The turtle disappeared in the same way, leaving Lee and team seven alone.

"Hey, Sasuke." Lee called out, getting his attention. "Actually, I have not been totally honest with you." He admitted. "I said I wanted to test my skills and that it true enough, but you are not really the one I wanted to test them against." The boy confessed.

"Hm?" Sakura hummed, her attention caught.

"I lied to you when we were fighting before. I told you that I am the best Genin here, but there is another top ninja." Lee stated. "Someone on my own squad." He said as an image of the boy with long hair flashed through everyone's mind. "I came here to defeat _him_. You were just practice. Now you are a target. I will crush you."

"Grrrrr." Sasuke growled, clenching his fists.

"There you have it. Consider yourself warned." Lee scowled, running off to find his team. Sasuke turned away from where Lee ran to in anger as Sakura looked at him, but her and Naruto ready to make fun of the defeated Uchiha with too much pride.

"He really kicked your butt, back there." Sakura scoffed. "Relax…This'll all be over in…five seconds." She mocked, doing a surprisingly perfect impression of Sasuke when she copied his previous words.

"Whoa! That was cool, Sakura-chan! Do me next!" Naruto called, grinning from ear to ear. Sakura smirked.

"I like ramen, Dattebayo!" She copied, also with a perfect copy of Naruto's voice.

"Is that part of your bloodline?" Naruto asked in shock.

"No, just a talent." Sakura laughed. "But really, Sasuke, how many bruises did he give you, anyway?" She asked in mock concern.

"Maha. Well, would you look at that." Naruto said, joining in on the teasing. "Looks like the Uchihas aren't as great as everybody thinks they are." He snorted.

"Argh! Just shut up!" He warned them. "Next time, I'll drive him to his knees." The boy promised.

"Yeah right." Naruto scoffed. "Who just got his butt kicked?" The boy continued.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke warned.

"You both saw that guy's hands, didn't you?" He asked, getting their attention on him. "I bet bushy-brow has been training until he drops, day in and day out. He trains harder than you, teme…that's all I'm saying."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr." Sasuke growled quietly. "Fine then. This is just starting to get interesting. The Chunin exams." He muttered. "I'll beat everyone who enters three times over."

"You know, cockiness will only get you hurt, Sasuke." Sakura warned with genuine concern. "Don't make the same mistake as you did with Lee. You could get seriously hurt or-" Sakura's concern was cut short when she fell back with a sharp pain in her cheek from where Sasuke punched her.

"I said SHUT UP!" Sasuke roared, losing his self-control to anger. Sakura glared at him and spit a small amount of blood on the floor from where her cheek was cut when his fist punched it unto her teeth, thus cutting it.

"Control your anger, Sasuke." Sakura warned him, her hands getting coated with ice. "You never know when your punch might return twice as hard." She threatened, letting the ice melt. The tension this threat caused between the two team mates lingered on though, and it was then too think to be cut by anything short of a katana.

"Hey, calm down, guys." Naruto said, trying to loosen up the suffocating air around the two. Sakura glared at him again and picked herself up off the floor, walking in the direction the three where heading before Lee turned up in the first place.

"Pff, I'm leaving." She hissed.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called. Sakura didn't stop, but Naruto turned and glared at Sasuke. "She was worried about you. Sakura-chan was just warning you because she didn't want you to get hurt!" He yelled at the Uchiha boy, who just looked away and glared at the floor. "Teme." The blonde growled, running after the pinkette of his team.

"Kuso…why did I lose my temper?" Sasuke asked himself, kicking the ground in anger. "Sakura…I'm sorry." He sighed, slowly going to follow his team. When he caught up with them, Sakura just nodded in his direction as if he hadn't just hit her.

"Come on…we're almost at the classroom." Sakura sighed, trying to act as if the punch and the threat didn't happen. The boys, catching on with what she was doing, nodded. However, no manner of acting could hide the slowly forming bruise on Sakura's cheek and the small tear in their already weak quilt of friendship.


	13. Kabuto, Sound and Butt grabbers

Chapter Thirteen

Genin Takedown! All Nine Rookies Face Off

In the hallowed halls of the pre-Genin Konohagakure ninja academy, outside room 301, the Genin of team seven—also called team Kakashi—stood with an array of expressions on their young faces. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, all ready for the Chunin exams, were beginning to have second thoughts.

Naruto's cerulean eyes were wide in anticipation and his mouth formed a small 'o' as he looked forwards. Sasuke was frowning, but other than that his expression was similar to Naruto. Sakura was just scowling, trying to ignore the sting of her cheek. In front of them, where they were all looking, stood their sensei, as casual as always.

"Glad you came in the end, Sakura, for your own sake and for the sake of your team. You were, after all, having the most doubts." Kakashi told them, sounding almost threatening.

"Huh?" Naruto muttered in a voice not even above that of a whisper as he looked to his scowling female team mate.

"Now you can all formally register for the Chunin exam." Kakashi informed them seriously.

"What are you talking about? Why would it matter if Sakura-chan came or not?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"You see, only groups of _three_ are allowed to apply for and take the Chunin exams. That's the way it's always been." He said.

"But…why the hell did you say that the decision was up to the individual, then?" Sakura snarled, not in the best of moods.

"No cussing, Sakura, and calm down. What's gotten you so angry?" Her sensei chuckled, though not really joking. Sakura glared.

"Answer my fu…I mean; answer the question." Sakura grunted, coving up another swear word that was the product of her bad mood.

"I told you that because it's true." Kakashi stated. "Well, it's a half truth, at least." He looked out of the window to his side. "It is an individual decision, but one that would affect all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want the other guys pressuring you. at the same time, I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate for any feelings you have for Naruto…or Sasuke. I wanted you to come to a decision of your own free will." He added.

"F-Feelings? Ha! I-I think n-not." Sakura stuttered nervously. "They're just my fri—I…I mean, team mates!" She continued, clenching her fists tightly in nervousness. Sasuke smirked at her bumbling, but frowned when she reached up and rubbed her cheek. "W-Wait a minute. You mean that if Naruto and Sasuke had shown up but I didn't come with them-"

"Then it would have been the end of the line." Kakashi finished for her. "If you hadn't have come along, then I couldn't have let the others in."

"Why would you need a team, though?" Sakura asked herself in confusion.

"Hm, I guess they do the exams differently in Yukigakure, if you didn't know." Kakashi hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, the team thing is different. You don't need your team to enter the exam since you can go in alone. Solo." She told him. "Ha, and I almost didn't show up today."

"But, it's a moot point. You're all here and for the right reasons." Kakashi continued. "Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke." He said, looking at them individually as he called their names. "I'm proud of you." He smiled. "I couldn't ask for a better team. Good luck." The man wished them, stepping aside for them to enter.

"We won't let you down, sensei, Dattebayo!" Naruto promised.

"We'll pass this thing." Sasuke stated confidently.

"And we'll do it team Kakashi style." Sakura smirked. She and Sasuke opened the doors together and the three Genin of team Kakashi walked through the doors into the lit room, ready to face their destiny. The doors shut as soon as they entered, leaving Kakashi alone in the hallway. He looked at the door in thought.

'_You were doubtful, because you don't want to go through the Chunin exams with a different team, right, Sakura?'_ Kakashi asked himself, still looking at the door. _'Naruto and Sasuke may be close to you, but you still miss those other team mates of yours.'_

[--

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura took a few steps from the door, looking around the room at the wide collection of strange looking Genin gathered in the large, four-walled place. Everyone spared them a glance, eyes narrowing at the thought of even _more_ competition. It was intimidating, to say the least, as they looked to be some of the youngest Genin there.

"W-What's this?" Naruto stuttered, seeing all eyes going over him, Sasuke and Sakura in turn.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, eyes narrowing at everyone who dared to stare at _the_ Uchiha Sasuke.

"I guess that this'll be fun after all." Sakura smirked, her eyes also going over the people in the room. Her orbs landed on three particular people who had their heads covered with conical straw hat and their faces hidden in shadows. What really caught her attention was the fact that one was wearing a lot of red and white while the other two were mainly clothed in white and grey with little bits of yellow.

"Sasuke-kun! Where have you been?!" A female voice squealed over the quiet the rest of the people in the room had set. Sasuke stumbled forwards slightly when he felt a weight on his back and two cloth-covered arms wrap around his neck. Ino pressed her chin on his shoulder and held her face near his as he smiled and blushed. Sasuke just looked un-amused and slightly disturbed.

"Damn." He cursed, hoping to avoid fangirls if possible. Sakura's eyes flicked over to him and Ino and she rolled them before looking back to the red and yellow men. Her orbs narrowed and her mind was set in suspicion when she saw them gone.

"Boy, you have no idea how much I was hoping that you'd show up here, Sasuke-kun." She giggled, not loosening her grip. "I've missed those brooding good looks of yours."

"Hey, Ino-pig. How are you?" Sakura asked somewhat politely, which shocked Ino into almost letting go of her 'precious Sasuke-kun. She did slip off of his back, but her arm was still around his shoulders.

"I'm, um, fine?" Ino replied. Sakura nodded. "And you?" She asked cautiously, remembering the kunai incident back in the academy.

"I'm…decent." Sakura offered, being very vague. She smirked. "At least I don't have to put up with having a mountain of puss and fat next to me, like Sasuke does." She continued. A vein popped in Ino's forehead.

"Grrrr! You're impossible!" She growled at the pinkette. Naruto snorted at Sakura's insult. "Well, at least I have a chance with Sasuke! All you get is Naruto, the blonde freak!" The girl yelled. Sakura glared at her when Naruto seemed to become suddenly sad.

"Listen here, porker. If you insult Naruto again, I will _not_ hesitate to kill you. he, just like Hinata-chan, is my f…fri…_friend_." She struggled to say as Ino's eyes widened in shock.

"Friend?" She echoed. "But…that Hyuuga girl is your _only_ friend. You said so yourself on many occasions."

"I changed my mind." She grit her teeth, but flinched and rubbed her cheek again when the bruise stung from the movement. Ino saw this and frowned.

"Oh, it's you guys." A lazy voice stated as Shikamaru and Choji stepped next to Ino and looked at the team seven Genin. "I knew this was gonna be troublesome, but I didn't know it was going to be _this_ lame." He drawled as Choji continued to scoff his chips.

"So, all three stooges are here." Naruto teased, moving closer to Shikamaru and Choji.

"Hey!" Shikamaru called in his and Choji's defence. "You know what, pipsqueak?…Oh, forget it; you're a waste of my time." He sighed, frowning at the blonde instead.

'_Nara Shikamaru. He's always complaining and never does a thing about it. He was the laziest kid ever to enter the academy, but I've got to admit that he __**is**__ smart.'_ Naruto recognised immediately, turning to look at the second new comer who hadn't yet spoken.

Choji, for his part, did nothing but put chips in his mouth, then chew them and swallow them at an alarming rate. He looked up occasionally to see if Naruto was trying to come closer to steal his food, but mostly just didn't pay attention to the potential fight.

'_Akimichi Choji. Aki-__**munchy**__ is more like it. I think that he'd eat his won head if he could.'_ The blonde stated in all seriousness on his part.

"Sorry, but Sasuke-kun is _all mine_." Ino stated as she stuck out her tongue and used one of her manicured fingers to pull down her bottom eyelid at the fangirls who walked passed and tried to flirt with Sasuke.

'_Yamanaka Ino. Now __**she's**__ annoying, and not just because she's got the same stupid thing for Sasuke that almost every girl in the world has got, either.'_ Naruto nodded, frowning at Ino.

"Well, well, what do ya know?" Another guy's voice, this one sounding more amused than lazy, called as he and his team approached teams seven and ten. "It looks like the whole gang is back together again." He mused, his white dog—that was sitting on his head—barking in agreement.

"H-Hi, Sa-Sakura-ch-chan, Naruto-k-kun." Hinata greeted shyly as she stood behind Kiba, peeking out to see her best friends. She blushed when Sakura looked towards her and waved slightly, gesturing for the Hyuuga girl to walk over. She did so and Hinata and Sakura exchanged stories about new missions and spoke of their teams.

Naruto looked towards the boy with the dog on his head. The boy was grinning and blushing a deep red as he looked at Sakura, who just ignored him. When she did look at him, however, he gulped and waved to her shakily. Sakura then just turned back to Hinata, who had convinced Sakura to look at him in the first place, and she raised her brow and shook her head.

You want to know what they were saying? Well, it went something like this:

"_Y-You know…K-Kiba l-likes you Sa-Sakura-ch-chan." Hinata stuttered to her first friend._

"_Mutt-boy? His dog is cool, but he's really weird. Like I said before, all he does is blush and stutter." Sakura sighed._

"_H-He o-only does that aro-around yo-you. He n-never blushes o-or st-stutters a-around m-me and Sh-Shino-k-kun." Hinata told her._

"_What?" Sakura asked, unconvinced. "No way." Se shook her head._

"_T-Take a l-look for y-yourself. H-He's st-staring at y-you r-right n-no-now." Hinata informed her. Sakura frowned and looked over to Kiba before looking back at Hinata._

"_Does he __**always**__ stare at me?" She asked with a risen brow. Hinata just nodded. "Huh. I must've missed it" The girl shrugged._

And that brings us back to this precise point in the story…la la la la la…well?! What do you want?! Go and read the rest of the story, for Kami-sama's sake! Geez…some people. They just don't know when to skip over a paragraph. Are you still here?! What do you want, an award? Wow, you've reached the end of the paragraph…whoop de do.

Anyway, as I was saying. Naruto looked towards the boy with the dog on his head. The boy was grinning and blushing a deep red as he looked at Sakura, who just ignored him. When she did look at him, however, he gulped and waved to her shakily. Sakura then just turned back to Hinata, who had convinced Sakura to look at him in the first place, and she raised her brow and shook her head.

'_Inuzuka Kiba and his dog, Akamaru. Forget what I said about Ino, this guy's the most annoying of all. he thinks he's so __**cool**__, but he turns into a bumbling wreak every time Sakura-chan is around. I don't like him one bit and he BETTER STAY AWAY FROM __**MY**__ SAKURA-CHAN TOO!'_ Naruto yelled in his own mind.

The blonde boy turned towards the third member of their team, who was by far the quietest boy he'd ever met. He was just standing, not looking at anyone or paying attention to anything around him. Aloof was one way to describe Shino, but even that was too loose a term for this shadow of a human.

'_Aburame Shino. Well, he's just weird. Kind of a mystery, but that doesn't mean that he isn't annoying too. Well, at least he hasn't shown any interest in my Sakura-chan.'_ Naruto noted in relief. _'He and Sakura-chan have so much in common—meaning the whole mysterious thing—that it would be impossible for them __**not**__ to get along.'_

"You guys too, huh? Man, everyone is here for this _stupid_ thing." The lazy genius on team ten muttered bitterly.

"Yep, here we all are. The nine rookies. Hahaha." Kiba laughed, trying to act 'cool' around the pinkette. "This is gonna be fun." He grinned. "At least, for those good enough to make the cut, _right_, Sasuke?" The dog-boy mocked.

"Kiba; careful that you don't get over-confident." Sasuke smirked as Ino put up her fists, ready to pummel the one who dared to insult Sasuke.

"Just wait. We're gonna blow you guys away." He taunted. "We've been training like crazy."

"Whadda ya think _we've_ been doing?" Naruto asked. "Sitting around picking daises? You don't know what training means." He accused, pointing a finger at Kiba.

"U-Uh…d-don't mind K-Kiba, Naruto-kun. I-I'm sure th-that he didn't m-mean anything b-by it." Hinata stuttered from her place next to Sakura, who rolled her eyes.

"You're too nice, Hinata-chan. Kiba insults Naruto. It's just a fact of life, my friend." She shrugged. "Besides, their faces when one of them gets angry is _priceless_." The girl added with a smirk.

"Huh?" Kiba asked with a light—but steadily increasing—blush as he looked in Sakura's direction.

'_Akamaru's looking plumper…juicier.'_ Choji thought greedily as he stepped towards Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba turned from Sakura and Hinata to the food-boy. Shino stepped in his way, obviously sensing the boy's intent against his team mate's ninken. "What'd _you_ want?" He asked the bug-nin. Shino looked down. "What's wrong?"

Choji and Shino both looking on the floor, were a small black bug was scurrying passed. If Choji had carried on walking, he probably would have squashed it. Choji's eyes followed the squeaking bug as it carried on along its way.

"I thought that maybe you hadn't seen it." Shino stated in his deep voice that most males got over time.

"Huh?" Choji questioned, looking confused.

"Didn't want you stepping on it." Shino clarified, scaring the Akimichi clan boy slightly.

"Well, why? You saving it for _lunch_?" Choji asked him obliviously. Shino glared behind his glasses and Sakura frowned at Choji, but neither said a word.

"Hey, you guys." Yet _another_ male called out. "You might wanna try keeping it down a little. I mean, no offence, but you're the eight rookies right? Fresh out of the academy?" He asked.

The nine of them looked at him and saw that he was probably only a few years older than them. He had silver hair, like Kakashi's, but it was tied in a spiky ponytail at the base of his neck. The clothing he wore was mainly purple. He wore a white, baggy t-shit with a baggy purple top over it, off-white cloth around his waist and purple ankle-length trousers. His hands were covered with the same type of gloves as Kakashi, except they went up to his elbows and he wore black ninja sandals, had a Konoha Hatei-ate around his forehead and glasses.

"There's _nine_ of us, actually." Ino stated, having to be the 'smart one' and point out his mistake. The man looked at her and then looked over the rest of the rookie Genin, seeming to pause and smirk at Sakura.

"Yes, of course. Nine." He stated, sounding amused. "I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it. This isn't a class field-trip, ya know?" He shrugged.

"Well, who asked you? Who are you?" Enquired a very annoying Ino in her high-pitched voice that made everyone want to cringe.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto." He stated, smirking. "But really, you should just take a look around you. you've made quite an impression." He continued to say, never dropping that smirk of his as seven of the nine Genin looked at the rest of the competition with wide eyes. Sakura, her eyes narrow, glared at Kabuto, as if trying to remember him, and Shino was just too stoic to join the others.

All of the other Genin in the place were looking at them with either murder or hatred in their eyes, causing most of the rookie nine to flinch at the hard looks. None of the opposing Genin looked friendly at all, other than a few of the younger girls smiling and batting their eyelashes at Sasuke. Three men, not from the village Konoha, were staring at them, but one seemed to be missing his pupils and his irises.

"See those guys?" Kabuto asked, gesturing towards the men. "They're from the Hidden Rain Village. Very touchy. They all are. This exam makes almost everyone tense. And you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now."

"Aa." A few of the nine said in recognition of the warning.

"You can't help it. I mean, how could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back." He told them, but Sakura sensed a mild untruth in his attitude.

"Kabuto…that's your name, right?" Sakura checked.

"Cleaver girl. And here I thought you planned to get through on your looks alone." Kabuto affirmed, smirking as her eye twitched at his obvious insult on how she looked dumb.

"So, this isn't the first time you've taken this exam?" She asked him, trying to ignore his insult as best she could.

"No." Kabuto said sheepishly. "It's…my seventh." He admitted. Shikamaru just stared at him in surprise. "Well, they're held twice a year, so this will be my fourth year."

"Seven times?" Sakura smirked. "Look at you…a _veteran_. A real expert on how to get through and _fail_ the exams." She added, remembering how he mocked her earlier.

"Touché. I _do_ consider myself as somewhat of an expert, as long as no one asks how to pass." He concluded, mentally applauding her come-back.

"Cool! Then you can give us all the inside tips!" Naruto realised.

"Yeah, some expert. As Sakura-san said, he's never passed." The lazy one, also known as Shikamaru, sighed as he looked over Kabuto for any signs of a lie, as all good ninja should.

"Well, seventh time's the charm. That's what they say, huh?" Kabuto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Not really." Sakura muttered, causing Hinata to giggle lightly.

"So then, I guess all those rumours about the exams being tough are true. Aw man, I knew this was going to be a drag. So troublesome." He stated with a sigh.

"Hang on. Don't give up hope just yet. Maybe I can help you kids out a little." Kabuto offered, reaching into the pouch on his hip. He pulled out orange-backed cards. "With my ninja info cards."

"Okay, I'll bite. What'd they do?" Sakura asked, looking suspiciously at the small deck of cards he fanned out in his hand.

"It's hard to explain." Kabuto sighed. "But, these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years." He told her, settling himself on the ground on his knees and placing the deck in front of him. "I've got more than two hundred of them. So you see, I haven't been _completely_ wasting my time."

"No, just mostly." Sakura added in, smirking when he smiled at her quick wit.

"I'll have to watch my pride and ego around you, wont I, Sakura-san?" He acknowledged. "Anyway, they may not look like very much to the naked eye. In fact, they appear blank." He stated, placing one of the cards face-up in the ground and, true to his word, it was blank. "I don't want just _anyone_ to see this stuff." Kabuto put his index finger in the middle of the card and started to shift his shoulder so that the card spun.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow and rubbing her cheek again.

"I'm using my chakra, to reveal their secrets." Kabuto told her. "Nice bruise, by the way." He added as revenge for her comments. The other ninja in the rookie nine, other than her team and Ino, looked at her cheek, noticing the bruise for the first time.

"Shut up and get on with it." Sakura told him, moving her hand from her cheek and ignoring the worried look Hinata was sending her.

"You mean like this?" Kabuto asked as a small cloud of smoke covered the card and the blank side was replaced by a coloured map and 3D bars above each country, all of it fully labelled.

"Wow…it's…a map." Sakura looked at it, severely unimpressed.

"It's not just a map, Sakura-_chan_." He told her, smirking when she scowled at him for the '-chan' part. "It shows the geographical distributions of all the candidates who have come to take the Chunin exams this year. It shows what villages they come from and how many there are from each village." He explained.

"Yuki…gakure." Sakura whispered as she saw a small bar over her home village, representing about three people.

"Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together, at the same time?" He asked rhetorically. None of them made a noise, other than Choji's constant munching. "It's to foster a friendship between nations, of course. International brotherhood and all that. And it's true enough, as far as it goes."

"But there's another reason." Sasuke cut in before Sakura and Kabuto could exchange words/insults again. He, as well as Naruto, Kiba and some of the other boys, didn't like the attention she gave him or that he acknowledged her to casually.

"Yeah." Kabuto agreed. "You see, this way they can carefully regulate the total number of shinobi that can end up in each village, there by containing the balance of power."

"Oh, yeah. Balance of power." Naruto nodded unsurely.

"Balance of power. Big deal. It's all a drag." Shikamaru said quickly and lazily as usual. Kabuto moved his hand over the card and, in another puff of smoke, it was blank again.

"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation could end up with many more shinobi than it's neighbours, and it might be tempted to attack them, so they try to maintain the statues quo." Kabuto told the Nara. "It makes sense…I suppose."

"Do those cards of yours have any info on the other candidates?" Sasuke asked before Kabuto and Shikamaru could start to discuss the balance of power further. "Individually?"

"They might." Kabuto stated vaguely. "You have someone special in mind?"

"I might." Sasuke told him, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I can't promise that my information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone." Kabuto told him as he put the other card back and sorted his pile. "Including you guys, of course." He added with yet another smirk. "So, which one is it? tell me anything you know about them—a description, where they're from, whatever—anything at all." He stated, holding up another card.

"He's Sabaku no Gaara, and there's Rock Lee of the leaf village, while you're at it." Sasuke told him.

"Man, that's no fun. You even know their names. That makes it _easy_." The silverette complained as he placed the card back and moved his hand over his pile quickly. Choji burped and carried on munching, but everyone else was silent.

"Well?" Sasuke asked impatiently. Kabuto stopped his hand and was holding two cards.

"Here they are." He stated.

"I'm not interested. See ya later. I have things to do…people to search for." Sakura waved—muttering the last part—as she walked off, looking around and glaring at anyone who snorted at the colour of her hair as she passed them. Sasuke waited until she was out of hearing distance before turning to Kabuto.

"Can you also pull out one on Haruno Sakura?" He asked. Kabuto smirked, still holding the two cards.

"I had a feeling you were going to ask that. It's a bit sad, really, that she's your team mate and you still need me to tell you about her." The man mused as she repeated the process and was now holding out three cards.

"Show them to me." Sasuke ordered. Naruto looked from the card to Sasuke and nodded, crossing his arms.

'_I haven't got a __**clue**__ what's going on here, but I'll act like I do. Anyway, this could mean that Sasuke and me know more about Sakura-chan.'_ He realised, nodded and leaning in towards the cards.

[--

Sakura took steps through the crowds of Genin, causing many to look at the lonely pinkette. She was right to think that there would be a lot of competition, but this was just ridiculous. However, the girl had set herself her own mission, of sort. It was to find those men with the conical straw hats and see if they were who she thought they were.

She stopped and looked to her left, seeing Rock Lee and his team looking around them to see the competition. She nodded when the girl looked in her direction, getting a polite nod and a smile back, but they both looked away after that. Looking to her right, she found the Sand Genin, Kankuro, Temari and Gaara. This time, it was Kankuro to saw her, and he winked and grinned. Sakura just rolled her eyes and looked away.

'_There.'_ She thought as she caught sighed of a blur of red and white out of the corner of her eye. She went in the direction it had gone and caught up with it, only to see nothing there. "Damn it! I was so close!" She cursed, punching the wall and storming away, only to walk in on Shikamaru asking about ehr. _'What are those bakas doing? Wait, are they…they're using the cards to find out about me!'_ She realised.

"Sakura-chan…she got prettier, if that's at all possible." One of the men stated as he jumped down from the ceiling and unmasked his chakra.

"Yeah." His look-alike agreed.

"That's my sister you're talking about, bakas…but you're right." The third nodded. "Let's go, Taiyoo, Tsuki."

"Right behind you, Juhi." The twins said as they saluted him mockingly.

[--

"Okay, first up is Rock Lee." Kabuto stated as he put one card on the ground and put his index finger in the middle of the card and started to shift his shoulder so that the card spun. There was another puff of smoke and all of Lee's details were on the card. He had a picture, which rotated to show his front, left, back and right, above the hips. Also, there were charts to show his skills, a list of team mates, how many missions he'd completed and more.

"Hm." Sasuke hummed, looking in further to see the cards.

"Looks like he's a year older than you guys." Kabuto observed. "Mission experience includes 11 C-ranks and 20 D-ranks. His squad leader is Maito Gai and over the last twelve months his taijutsu has radically improved, but his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year he got a lot of attention as a Genin, but for some reason…he chose not to participate in the Chunin exams. This'll be his first time as a candidate, same as you guys. His team mates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji."

Behind Shikamaru, only listening to what Kabuto was saying because she was polite and not bold enough to declare that she was leaving like her friend did, Hinata's eyes widened at the mention of Hyuuga Neji in the same was as the brunette's did when Sakura mentioned Hinata.

"Huh? Hyuuga?" Naruto asked, looking over at Hinata, who saw his look and shrugged. She then looked at the ground guiltily as soon as Naruto looked away from her.

"Okay, now for Sabaku no Gaara." Kabuto stated, putting the card on the ground and doing the same as he did to Lee's. "Mission experience includes eight C-ranks and, get this, one B-rank as a Genin. His D-rank missions are unknown, though. Hmm, there's no more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally, but there _is_ this; he survived every mission without a scratch on him." Kabuto said as he pushed up his glasses.

"That dude's done a B-rank as a Genin and has never even been injured once?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked. Sasuke remained silent as Kabuto pulled another card from the deck, placed it on top of Gaara's and tapped it once. Another map appeared on the card.

"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound, Snow." Kabuto counted off as labels appeared on the card to show each. "From the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates this time around. Of course, the Hidden Sound Village—Otogakure—is small. It sprang up recently and no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." He stated as he looked towards the ninja who were perched in the tree around the time team seven met Gaara.

"Huh." Shikamaru grunted, going back to his lazy-mode.

"Well, you guys get the point." Kabuto said, placing all of his cards back into the pile. "The competition's going to be intense this year."

"S-So it w-would s-seem." Hinata agreed. "I-It's almost e-enough to m-make you l-lose your c-confidence."

"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" Ino scolded. "But…do you really think it's going to be tougher this time?" She added shakily.

"Oh yeah." Kabuto confirmed. "In the four years I've been coming, I've _never_ seen a crop of candidates with nearly as much potential as this bunch. Yep, we sure have our work cut out for us." He sighed.

"What about Sakura-san?" Shikamaru called, seeing him putting away hi cards. Kabuto sighed and pulled her card, putting his index finger in the middle of it and started to shift his shoulder so that the card spun again.

"Fine, here you go." Kabuto told them. "Haruno Sakura, age twelve. Her mission record includes one hundred and three D-rank, some in Konoha and some elsewhere, unknown C-rank, unknown B-rank, unknown A-rank and…no way! S-rank is listed! That can only mean that she's done at least one, but it's not got the number listed here either." He stated in amazement.

"But, S-rank are only given to ANBU or extremely talented Jounin at least!" Shikamaru stated in the same way as Kabuto.

"Apparently, she did the most of the missions above C-rank before she even came to Konoha in the first place." Kabuto told them.

"But, she came when she was ten!" Ino yelled in disbelief.

"Are you trying to say that Sakura was a fully fledged ninja of ANBU ability before her tenth birthday?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Either that or Yukigakure is slipping and giving even the easiest of missions a high rank. She used to be quite high up in the diplomatic structure of her old village, so they might have given her easy D-ranked missions and said they were S-ranked so that she didn't complain but was still safe." Kabuto shrugged.

"H-How high u-up?" Hinata asked shyly.

"Somewhere close to…I would say…princess." Kabuto said calmly.

"I knew it!" Naruto cheered. "She really is Sakura-hime!"

"_Right_." Kabuto drawled, shaking his head. "She was the second born child of the Haruno clan leader. That clan is the most powerful in Yukigakure and one of the top four in the world." He added.

"Four?" Shikamaru echoed.

"Uchiha, Hyuuga, Haruno and Hoshi, but not in that order." He told them with a shrug.

"What about her skills?" Ino asked.

"Hmm, not listed. All I can tell you is that she of unknown ability in genjutsu, ninjutsu and other fighting skills, but is only of an average level when it comes to taijutsu." Kabuto shrugged, looking at the many black question marks dotted over Sakura's information card.

"Anything else?" Choji asked, still munching.

"Yeah, because I do so _love_ it when _nosy people_ try to find out about my past _without_ my _permission_." Sakura's voice growled darkly from behind them. They all turned, some in fear and others—aka Shino—turned to her stoically.

"Sakura-hime!" Naruto called. A vein popped in Sakura's forehead as she punched the blonde hard and sent him flying into, but not through, a wall.

"I may be repeating myself here but; I AM NOT A PRINCESS!" She screamed, stating the same thing from back when team seven first got the mission to protect Tazuna.

[--

Outside the door, still standing lost in his thoughts, Kakashi listened to the goings on inside the room. He remembered all of the harsh words when he and the other senseis put forwards all of their teams for the Chunin exams so easily after only a few month of training.

[--

"_I can't go along with this!" Iruka yelled. "They may be under your care now, Kakashi, but I know these kids. They were my students and I __**trained**__ them. I don't know what you're trying to prove-"_

"_You know, he may be right, Kakashi." Gai interrupted before Iruka could go off on a full rant. "You're putting a lot of pressure on them. Why so impatient? I held __**my**__ team back for a year so they could hone their skills and mature. Let them enjoy their __**youth**__ a little longer."_

"_Ahahaha. Your concern is __**touching**__. You sure it's not just because you're sure that __**your guys**__ don't stand a chance against __**my guys**__?" Kakashi mocked as Gai froze, then growled._

"_All right, all right, that's enough." The Hokage cut into their verbal fight before it could turn physical. "The matter of the rookie's participation is closed. Now, as for the other Genin, I'm ready to consider your recommendations."_

"_I know what I'm doing." Kakashi confirmed. "You'll see."_

[--

'_I wish I was as sure as I sounded.'_ Kakashi prayed as he broke from his memories. _'I wonder how they're doing. Even the cockiest of them must be a little scared.'_

[--

Naruto was shaking, standing in front of Sakura. She herself was watching him with concern. They had already gotten over the 'princess' thing, with a lot of pain on Naruto's part, and he was contemplating the examinations more than anything now. Ino looked over to Naruto, seeing him and Sakura whisper things between each other as he continued to shake.

'_Okay, so we're just rookies and most of these guys are older and more experienced than we are.'_ Ino counted in her head. _'No big deal. It's okay to be a little scared. I-I can handle it. but, it'd be a whole lot easier if I didn't have to watch Naruto falling apart. I mean, nothing usually gets to him.'_ She gulped.

"Naruto, what's up? You're making me dizzy with your constant shaking and all." Sakura told him. She saw that his fists were clenched and managed to move in just enough tome before he flung his fists in the air with a war cry. This caught the attention of _everyone_ in the room.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna beat every one of you." He called out.

[--

"_Dattebayo!"_ Kakashi heard as he leaned on the door. he began to chuckle at the brave declaration he just heard his more hyper student make.

[--

"Hey! What's that idiot trying to do, get up killed?!" Ino screeched in Sakura's ear. "Tell your boyfriend to keep his big, fat mouth shut!" She cried at the pinkette.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sakura yelled back. Whoa, déjà vu much?

"Oh, I forgot! You can't get one!" She screamed.

"What did you say?!" Sakura returned with just as much anger in her voice. They stared at each other, sending electric glares into the other's eyes.

"You heard me!" Ino growled.

"Well, at least I don't throw myself at emo guys!" Sakura mocked.

"Sasuke-kun is _not_ emo!" Ino defended.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Boar!"

"Forehead!"

"Pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

"Baboon!"

"Freak!"

"You ugly blonde!"

"You freaky pink haired weirdo!"

"You're not even smart enough to think of a name, pig!"

"Shut up, Sasuke-hater!"

"You shut up, fangirl!"

"Make me, hag!"

"I will, Sasuke-stalker!"

"Grrrr." They growled in union, still glaring electricity.

Well, Sakura was still Sakura and, as previously stated in the third chapter of this tale, the pinkette, although cold and silent most of the time, loved to rile up the blonde. Hehe.

"Yeah! I feel a lot better now!" Naruto stated, placing his hands behind his head as Sasuke could only smirk at the blonde's outburst. Kabuto stared in amazement that one person could make such a big mistake, but his expression too became a smirk.

[--

"That's the same kid as before, isn't it?" Kankuro asked as he stood with Gaara and Temari in the crowd. His eyes remained on Sakura, but he knew Naruto's voice anywhere.

"He yips just like a little dog." Temari mused with a smirked to match the brunette's.

[--

"What a jerk." Tenten muttered, looking directly at Naruto.

"Well, he sure hasn't lost any of his spunk." Neji added.

"He has passion." Lee agreed. Neji turned to him.

"I guess you really didn't intimidate him as much as you thought, huh, Lee?" He mocked calmly.

"I suppose not." Lee admitted. Neji, Tenten and Lee all watched as Sakura turned from her verbal battle with a red-in-the-face Ino and looked over the crowd of Genin. Her eyes seemed to pause on a team from Sand—where one of the boys on the team winked at her—a team from Snow and them. Lee blushed again, but she looked away.

"She has keen eyes to be able to find us all the way back here." Tenten observed.

[--

"You heard what four-eyes said about Otogakure?" One of the male sound-nin asked his team, sounding insulted. "He called us little. A mystery." He mused.

"I heard." The man with most of his face covered stated.

"I say that we teach this guy some manners." The only girl told them.

"Yeah." The man agreed. "Time we cleared up some of the mystery for him. Update his information. Let him know that…if you insult the Sound shinobi, you better be ready for the consequences." He told them darkly.

[--

"I think we should reveal ourselves to Sakura-chan sometime either between the first and second tests or during the second, if possible. If we can't get to her then, we'll just have to wait for the opportunity to arise. I know that you two don't like waiting to talk to her." Juhi said to Taiyoo and Tsuki, who could only nod.

"Cool." Tsuki agreed.

"One shouldn't wait too long, for then the true chance could slip." Taiyoo riddled.

"Dude, speak normally for once." Tsuki said to his twin brother.

"To dumb it down for you; don't wait too long or we wont get a chance to tell her at all, baka!" Taiyoo yelled quietly as he could.

"Grrrrr." The twins growled at each other as Juhi could only roll his eyes and pull his hat down to further conceal his appearance.

[--

The rookie nine stood in an almost circle around Naruto, who was quite content after yelling about how he would kick everyone's ass. Kabuto stood up from where he was putting away his cards and Kiba, who was next to Choji, tried to cover his laugh with his hand.

"Uh, can you say that a little louder?" Kiba mocked. "I didn't quite catch it."

"You moron." Shikamaru sighed. "Are you _trying_ to get everybody in the place to hate our guts or what?"

"Hahahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed. Sakura came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. When Naruto turned around, she punched him right in the face and sent him back, almost to where the Genin mob started.

"BAKA! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?! YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BEAT THEM ALL!" She roared.

"What's this? Are you two breaking up?" Ino mocked.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sakura yelled at her.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

[--

"You ready?" One sound-nin asked.

"Let's do it." His male team mate nodded, looking directly at the now smirking Sakura. They moved quickly passed teams of Genin. Kabuto noticed them and Kankuro began to take the thing off of his back, but Gaara stopped him by holding out his arm. He looked at the redhead in question, but said nothing and simply replaced the thing on his back.

The sound-nin with the fur on his back pulled up one of his sleeves, revealing a large metal device that covered his entire forearm. Kabuto didn't stop looking for them as he felt their movements due to the shifts in the air. Sakura paused in her yelling at Naruto when something—meaning some_one_—sprang passed her and grabbed her butt. She glowed red and looked behind her, only to find an empty space.

Kabuto turned and saw the alleged 'butt-grabber', who was in the air holding two kunai in his hand. He pulled back his arm and threw them in Kabuto's direction, but they missed when Kabuto jumped back just before impact. Sakura turned to look at the one who threw them, scowling when he winked at her. However, the kunai turned out to be a distraction and the one with long sleeves appeared in front of Kabuto, aiming his arm to punch the spectacled man.

'_They're from the village hidden in the sound.'_ Kabuto realised when the man's Hatei-ate glinted. The punch came in, but Kabuto moved out of the way with speed too good for a seven-time failure, a smirk plastered on his face.

'_Man, he's fast!'_ Naruto realised.

'_He's almost as quick as me.'_ Sasuke smirked, seeing another challenge in the exams worthy of 'Sasuke the great'.

'_That guy grabbed my butt!'_ Sakura screeched.

'_**CHA! HE'S DEAD!'**_ Inner agreed, flailing her fists in the air. Kabuto's smirk remained until his glasses shattered, the broken pieces of glass falling to the ground.

"Oh, I get it." Kabuto stated, not worried about his glasses. "So it was _that_ kind of attack." He realised. The man removed his glasses as Sasuke marched forwards, his fists and teeth clenched.

"Hand on, I saw it all." He frowned.

"Didn't see Mr Hands, though, did you?" Sakura muttered, still slightly pink and glaring at the boy with spiked hair who grabbed her buttocks before he attacked.

"He dodged the attack. How did that happen?" Sasuke continued, not hearing Sakura.

"It must've come closer than it looked. Che, look at him, acting like it was nothing. _Real_ tough guy." Shikamaru snorted as he snarled in Kabuto's direction. Kabuto looked up and gasped as a sharp pain filled his whole body. His vision blurred more than it should and he fell on his knees, sweating as he threw up.

"What? Did he just…?" Naruto asked, not really sure what to say.

"K-Kabuto-s-san…wh-what's wr-wrong?" Hinata asked him in her usual concern for everyone. Everyone in the room watched as Kabuto threw up from the supposedly non-contact attack. The three sound Genin smirked as they stood in front of him, but Naruto and Sakura ran to him and kneeled by his left and right respectively to make sure he was okay.

"Yo, Mr Pride-and-Ego…you alright?" Sakura asked, helping him up.

"Yeah…I'm fine." Kabuto muttered weakly.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked to be certain.

"Not such a tough-guy after all, I guess." The one who hit him without hitting him mused sadistically. "Maybe that's why he's on his seventh try for the exams."

"Write _this_ on your little card, punk; the Sound Genin will be Sound _Chunin_ when this is over, guaranteed." The butt-grabber promised, smirking at Sakura when she glared at him. Kabuto, supported by Naruto and Sakura, looked up at them and wiped the remaining up-chuck from his mouth.

Naruto growled as he looked up at them, as if sizing them up and wondering his chances of survival. But, we all know that our little container is _really_ thinking something along the lines of; _these guys are dead! I can beat them! I'm gonna be Hokage some day! Dattebayo!_

'_I don't get it.'_ Sasuke admitted to himself. _'He saw their attack in time to evade it. What made him fall apart?'_

"Hey, Lee. What was going on with that attack?" Neji asked his green-clad team mate. Lee frowned, thinking of a way to explain it.

"There was more to it than just speed." Lee recognised. "Some kind of trick." He noted.

A large cloud of smoke appeared in the front of the room—the rookie ninja and the fight being situated at the back—and a booming voice called out through the masses of white and grey. He—for it was either a man or a very manly woman—sounded controlling and threatening.

"All right, you baby-faced degenerates." The man yelled. "Sit down and listen up." His voice ordered, still hidden in the smoke.

The white and grey smoke effect cleared and it revealed a broad man wearing his Hatei-ate as a bandana with the metal on his forehead and around twenty other men and women in grey uniforms similar to the ones worn by the two men who posed as Genin. The man himself was clad fully in black, from his boots and trousers to his jumper and trench coat. His whole appearance just screamed leader, and the two scars on his face only seemed to make him scarier.

"Huh?" Most Genin whispered, but everyone remained silent for the most part.

"It's time to begin. I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor…and, from this moment on…your worst enemy." The man threatened.

'_Oh no, Morino Ibiki, I think that a certain butt-grabbing moron has a different enemy to worry about.'_ Sakura stated in her mind, glaring at the spiked head of her newest target. _'A __**very**__ scary enemy, indeed.'_


	14. Chunin Exam Stage One: The Written Test

Chapter Fourteen

Start Your Engines: The Chunin Exam Begins

"It's time to begin. I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor…and, from this moment on…your worst enemy." The man threatened.

'_Oh no, Morino Ibiki, I think that a certain butt-grabbing moron has a different enemy to worry about.'_ Sakura stated in her mind, glaring at the spiked head of her newest target. _'A very scary enemy, indeed.'_

"First!" Ibiki yelled, pointing to the back. "You Genin ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Sound, knock it off! Who told you that you were allowed to fight?!" He demanded as people muttered and whispered about how scary he was. "You wanna be failed before we've even begun?!"

"Sorry, it's our first time." The boy with the fur on his back apologised, not sounding sorry at all. "I guess we're just a little jumpy, _sir_." He mocked. Ibiki smirked and turned to the Leaf Genin—meaning the rookie nine and Kabuto—with a frown before surveying the rest of the Genin in the room.

"I'll say this once and only once, so listen up." He called. "There will be no combat between candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor and even then, the use of fatal force as _strictly_ prohibited. Anyone who even _thinks_ of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

A few of the Genin in the room nodded and muttered their answers while a good few of the weaker Genin ninjas just stood still in fear of their first examiner. Sakura rolled her eyes and turned him out, looking for the team in the conical straw hats again. The butt grabber just smirked at Ibiki, getting all cocky.

"Feh. No fatal force? That's no fun." He stated. Several of the grey uniformed ninja behind Ibiki chuckled. "I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who feels that way, right, Pinkie?" The boy asked, turning to Sakura.

"Pff, whatever. I'll kick your ass anyways." She shrugged, glaring kunai at him. He only smirked.

"And while you _try_ to kick mine, I'll be _succeeding_ in _grabbing_ yours." He said quietly, knowing that only she and Hinata would hear him. Hinata gasped and blushed, turning to Sakura as she gritted her teeth and tried to hold herself back from pounding him into the ground.

"Listen up, jackass-" Sakura began, but he put his hand over her mouth.

"It's Zaku." He smirked, letting go of her and turning away before she could tell him off.

"Now, if we're ready, we shall proceed to the first stage of the Chunin examinations." Ibiki told them, seemingly ignoring all comments to him or other Genin made. "Hand in your paperwork. In return, you'll all be given a number." He continued, holding up a small piece of white card with the number one on it. "This number determines where you will sit."

"If any of us sit next to Sakura, keep your face hidden and don't pay any attention to her." Juhi warned the twins quietly. "We want to be revealed together, not one at a time."

"Hai." The twins agreed in a morbid and disappointed tone. There goes their idea of rigging the number distribution with a jutsu just to see her first.

"We'll start the written test once you are all seated." Ibiki told them, handing the card to one of the uniformed ninja behind him.

"The what?" Naruto asked in horror as Sakura used Kabuto's arm to pull him to his feet. Both looked at the fear-stricken blonde in question. "Did he say…written?" He gulped loudly.

"Uhh…Naruto? Are you okay?" Sakura asked in worry. One of the uniformed men pulled out a bunch of papers; the tests.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The blonde yelled out. "Put me in a fight! I can deal with that! Pull my toenails out one-by-one! I can deal with that! But not a written test! Anything but that! Really, I'll do absolutely _anything_! Dattebayo! Dattebayo!"

[--

All of the Genin were seated in one of the larger academy rooms. Sitting in seats all around them were the grey-uniformed ninja, each holding a clipboard, and Ibiki was at the front of the room. Most, if not all, of the Genin looked nervous, but there were a few cocky ones who looked as if this was a breeze.

Naruto sat in the second row, with two separate pieces of card with '53' written on them, one that was given to him and another that was there to show him his seat. Also in front of him was two pencils, an eraser and a sheet of black white paper. He chewed on his bottom lip nervously, so caught up in his panic that he didn't notice Hinata sitting next to him.

'_I don't even know where Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme are sitting.'_ He thought, looking around. _'I'm all alone.'_ Naruto grabbed his head in frustration. _'Argh! This is already a disaster!'_ He whimpered to himself.

-

Sakura, sitting two rows behind her blonde friend and not knowing the location of Sasuke, sighed as she leaned back in her seat. She was careful not to knock the items on her desk, which were the same items as Naruto had in front of him. The boys on either side of her offered her a spare glance before they both looked away, blushing. They were no one she knew. On the left of her was a redhead from the hidden rain village and to her right was a brunette from cloud.

'_Geez…Naruto won't pass this unless a miracle happened.'_ Sakura sighed.

'_**OR! We could, you know…'**_ Inner looked around as if someone would actually hear her. _**'…cheat.'**_ She whispered back.

'_I think that's the point.'_ Sakura rolled her eyes.

'_**I don't get it.'**_ Inner replied truthfully, scratching her head in confusion.

'_This is almost the same as that test in Yukigakure.'_

'_**It is?'**_

'_Yep.'_

'_**Cool. So, what were you going to say…er…think?**__'_

'_I'm not helping Naruto cheat. That…and I'm smart enough to cheat __**without**__ cheating on this test, remember?'_ She added, holding her hand in the tiger seal under her desk. She saw from a different point of view as her emerald eyes dulled slightly. This one was sat next to one of the Chunin she knew were planted inside the room.

'_**This is awesome! Who are you using?'**_ The second mind, also the emotion container, asked in giddy glee.

'_She is Pride, but under a Henge. She looks good as a brunette, I have to say, but I needed to keep her eyes the same. Red.'_ Sakura shrugged mentally, practicing picking up a pencil and moving it around while seeing through the clone's eyes. It was hard at first, but she carried on trying until she got used to it.

'_**Wait! If I was using one of my emotions, then you would be emotionless right now and I wouldn't be here, remember?'**_Inner reminded, seeing through the original Sakura's eyes and guiding her movements further as she attempted it while not seeing her own hand.

'_I just placed a bit of her chakra into a clone. Simple, but I need to concentrate on it. When I'm finished with the answers, I'll dispel her chakra and keep the clone, but get her to fail somehow.'_ Sakura smirked, already having everything planned out.

'_**Won't it look odd if she leaves without a team?'**_ Inner pointed out.

'_Covered. I have a clone near the door and another at the very back. They will leave with her and I've set up a point outside the academy where the clones should automatically dispel themselves.'_ She told her.

'_**If we're smart enough to do all of this, then why do we need to cheat at all?'**_

'_I felt like it. I'm too lazy to actually work on the test myself, and, if I'm right, it's all about information gathering.'_ Sakura stated as she broke her tiger seal and the blank look in her eyes left.

'_**Fair enough.'**_ Inner shrugged.

'_Damn! I can feel someone staring at me!'_ The girl looked to her left, seeing Sasuke and also that one of those people in the conical straw hats was sitting next to chicken-butt-boy while looking at her. She glared and the person looked away.

-

Now moving back to Naruto and Hinata, the blonde was growling to himself too much to notice Hinata. She blushed when she heard him muttering some foul words, but he just sighed and went back to growling anyway. A cuss here and there was added into his muttering, but it was mainly just insults for Sasuke.

'_He must've learned all those cusses from Sakura-chan… She's not one to watch her words unless someone actually tells her off for it…and even then she usually ignores them.'_ Hinata sighed mentally.

"Damn it…I'm gonna fail." Naruto whispered to himself, but Hinata's keen ears heard him.

"U-Umm…N-Naruto-kun." She murmured, getting his attention.

"Huh? Hinata-chan?" The blonde boy asked before his brain clicked into gear. "Ah! I'm sorry if you thought I was ignoring you, but I'm just worried about this big test thing and—I mean! I can totally do this, Dattebayo!" He assured, chuckling nervously.

"N-No p-problem." She smiled. "I j-just wanted to s-say…g-good luck and e-everything."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled back. "Good luck to you too and-" He was about to say more when Ibiki tapped some chalk on the board behind him.

"Everyone, eyes front." He commanded. "There are a few ruled that you need to be aware of and I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around."

"_Someone_ has a pole shoved up his ass." Sakura muttered, getting snorts of laughter from the boys next to her.

"Number 79!" Ibiki called. "Is there a problem?" He asked almost sincerely, but anyone with half a brain could tell that he was mocking the person he called.

"No, sir." Sakura replied, flipping her long bangs away from her face.

"Stand when you're speaking to me." Ibiki ordered, smirking. Sakura sighed, rolled her eyes and stood up, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her. "Now; is there a problem?"

"Sir, no, sir." Sakura replied as if she were a cadet in a military academy.

"Then what did you say that numbers 78 and 80 found so amusing?" He probed. The boys on either side of Sakura gulped, but the pinkette just put her left hand on her forehead and her right on her hip.

"You don't want to know." She assured.

"Oh, but I do." He replied firmly, crossing his arms. Sakura sighed and stood straight.

"I said; _someone_ has a pole shoved up his ass, sir." Sakura told him, causing everyone to burst out laughing…well, some laughed while others just smirked and/or sniggered, even the sentinels.

"Repeat that!" Ibiki yelled, frowning at her.

"Sir, I merely stated that someone has a whole grip on this class, sir." She smirked, covering up her words. More laughter went around the room.

"That's what I thought you said." Ibiki muttered. "Now, sit down." He ordered, Sakura doing as she was told.

"Okay, now that that's settled, I'll begin with the rules." Ibiki turned to the board and began to write on it. "Rule number one is this; the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you will all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points."

He moved away from the board, reveal the text he had written. It looked a little something like this:

_Everyone starts with 10 points._

_Example 1. If you answer all questions correctly, you will keep all 10 points._

_Example 2. If you miss/fail 3 questions in the test, your final score would be 7._

"1 point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong, so if you miss three then your final score would be 7, as I have written." He explained.

'_And if I miss 10, my final score will be zero.'_ Naruto thought desperately, though nodding in understanding outside his mind. _'Well, at least I know where Sakura-chan is now.'_ He remembered on a higher note. _'She's four rows behind me! Or was it two? Three? Aww man!'_

"Rule number two." He continued. "Teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members." Ibiki broke to them, causing gasps and worry throughout the room. Sakura banged her head on her desk before rising from her seat again.

"What?" The boy, number 80 from Cloud, asked quietly in shock.

"SO YOU'RE SAYING WE GET SCORED AS A TEAM?!" She screamed at him, gritting her teeth. "My baka team mate won't even get one question right! And I'm not sure if Sasuke even _has_ a brain beneath that thick skull and chicken ass hair!"

"Hey! Don't insult Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled from three rows behind Sakura as she stood up and pointed her finger at the pinkette accusingly.

"SILENCE! Numbers 79 and 94, sit down!" Ibiki yelled. The girls grumbled, but sat back down anyway. _'They told me that these rookies would give me trouble, but never did they say anything about Pinkie being loud. They said that the most I'd get from her is a glare.'_ He sighed.

"I am _toast_!" Sakura groaned, banging her head on the desk again. "That basterd." The girl seethed, catching both Cloud and Rain's attention with her cussing. "That sneaky, conniving, sadistic basterd. He _knows_ that Naruto is a baka. I just know he does." She glared at Ibiki.

"Che, tell me about it." The redhead from Rain snorted. "Both of my team mates are brainless." He sighed.

"Yeah, and my team couldn't tell a shuriken from a kunai if both were such in their arm." The one from Cloud added with a small laugh.

"Ugh, we're almost triplets." Sakura smirked.

'_Well, that was a waste of my time.'_ Sakura sighed.

'_**Then why did you talk to them?'**_ Inner asked.

'_Because I wanted to know if they're actually competition for me and my team. I can tell from the way they speak that these two will fail. They are __**both**__ complete bakas.'_ She giggled mentally, because we all know that Sakura doesn't laugh out loud without a good reason.

"I have my reasons for this, so shut up and listen." Ibiki continued, making a mental note to warn all proctors about her anger.

'_Reasons? What reasons? To thin out the herd?'_ Sakura glared.

"Rule number three." Ibiki carried on. "The sentinels I've placed around the room are there to watch you for any signs of _cheating_." He informed them.

'_**Ah!'**_ Inner sighed contently._**'Cheating…such a beautiful word.'**_ She smiled.

"And for every culprit caught, they will deduct two points from their score." Ibiki smirked.

-

"Be warned, their eyes are extremely sharp." Ibiki told them. "If they catch you five times, you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored, along with the rest of your squad."

-

'_Naruto-baka is going to make me and Sakura lose…I just know it.'_ Sasuke growled mentally from his seat in between one blushing and fidgeting girl, from Grass, and one silent boy from Yukigakure. _'What the-?'_ He thought as he looked at the boy's shoulder. _'Isn't Sakura's clan symbol just like that? Well, Sakura's is white, but his is almost the same. Hmm…a yellow circle…I wonder…'_

-

"Anyone _fool_ enough to be caught by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here." The proctor continued.

-

"I've got my eye on you guys." One of the sentinels, the one who posed as a Genin with spiked hair, warned two Genin close to him who looked bored. They stiffened and straightened up with gasps immediately after he spoke.

-

"If you want to be considered shinobi, and then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be." He smiled sadistically.

-

'_Okay, okay, relax.'_ Sakura said to herself. _'I know I'll be alright and Sasuke should be okay on his own…so, even if Naruto gets a zero we could still get through.'_ She assured herself.

'_**Better safe than sorry…'**_ Inner stated, following up her statement by whistling innocently.

'_I'm not cheating for him.'_ Sakura frowned. _'Even if he messes up and gets minus one billon on this test, I'm sure that Naruto will be able to get himself out of it. He's not the brightest bulb in the room, but he __**is**__ the most stubborn. He'll get through this __**without**__ my help.'_ She nodded confidently in her mind.

'_**You have **__**way**__** too much confidence in that cute baka.'**_ The emotion container sighed.

-

"One more thing." Ibiki broke her thoughts. "If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails." He added.

Sasuke froze.

Sakura's eye twitched.

Naruto gulped.

'_Oh no! They're gonna kill me!'_ He thought in fear as his mind envisioned him swirling towards a giant Sasuke and Sakura, whose eyes were glowing blue and yellow in rage respectively. Each pulled out a weapon, a fuuma shuriken for Sasuke and five poisoned senbon for Sakura, and growled.

"Umm…Na-Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned in concern when she heard Naruto whimper and mutter something that sounded like; 'kill the teme, Sakura-chan…he's the one who used his magic Shara-whatever eyes to make my answers invisible on the paper'. She sighed and shook her head in pity.

-

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minuets before the end of the testing period." Ibiki told them before Hinata could talk. She and Naruto both looked up in surprise. "You'll have one hour total." He said as the clock ticked.

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

"Begin!" Ibiki yelled, hearing a series of shuffling papers after his word. All that was heard throughout the room was humming, gulping and a slightly tapping of pencils on paper. Sakura looked at her test and smirked, seeing the questions in front of her.

'_Okay…man, I forgot how easy it was to take written tests.'_ She laughed mentally, biting her lip. Sakura looked over the test, but chose to build up her chakra to do as much as possible before actually using her jutsu.

-

Sasuke tapped his chin with his pencil, knowing that he could turn to see what Sakura was doing without being marked as cheating and he saw no point in look at Naruto. However, his thoughts of self-preservation got the better of him and he looked over to see if Naruto was getting anywhere.

'_Oh man.'_ He thought to himself. _'This doesn't look good. He's just sitting there. He's gonna choke.'_

-

'_Ahahaha haha.'_ Naruto laughed mentally and grinning to himself nervously. _'What am I worried about? It's just a test. I've done a lot harder things, Dattebayo.'_ He believed confidently, picking up his paper and looking at it.

-

'_He's moving! See, I told you not to worry.'_ Sakura sighed in relief.

'_**Whatever. I'm scheming.'**_ Inner muttered as she continued to write on a piece of paper marked; 'Evil plans and Sadistic schemes: The Help Naruto version.

-

'_All I've got to do is relax and take my time, read through the questions and find the few I have a chance at answering. No pressure. Number one; oh, I see! I gotta decipher a code. Okay, mmhmm. Well, I'll forget that one. What's next?'_

-

'_Line B in the diagram represents the direction of trajectory of a shuriken thrown at ninja C by ninja A, who is seated atop a tree seven metres tall and twelve metres away.'_ Sasuke read from his test._ 'Describe and formulate the trajectory required if ninja C were positioned at points D, E and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer.'_ He nodded. _'Oh crap.'_

-

'_These are intergraded problems based on principles of uncertainty and require in-complex mechanical energy analysis. Incredibly advanced stuff, I can admit. Naruto doesn't stand a chance! He can solve these!'_ Sakura thought in a panic.

'_**Cheat-ing is the bestest experience that I ever knew…Deceive can be as good as cheat, it is the bestest experience since the one named che-eat.'**_ Inner sang, using the tune from Aimee Mann's version of 'One'.

'_LEAVE ME ALONE! HE'LL DO FINE AND __**YOU**__ CAN'T SING!'_ Sakura yelled.

-

'_Okay, skip number two as well.'_ Naruto thought happily. _'Next up, number three. Hmm, interesting…well, there's only one possible answer for this one! Skip over!'_ He grinned, looking at number four.

-

'_These problems only get harder as they go down.'_ Sakura noticed.

'_**You know, you **__**could**__** always-'**_

'_I'm not cheating for him.'_ Sakura interrupted.

'_**You have me all wrong! I was going to suggest that you-'**_

'_And I'm also not going to lie, deceive, threaten, blackmail, bribe, distract, manipulate, and/or take over the world with dust bunnies.'_ She sighed.

'_**Hey! Those were good solutions! And the last one is pure gold! No one would expect it!'**_ Inner defended herself and her past scheme.

'_I really need therapy.'_ Sakura sighed to herself. _'Naruto will be fine and the world doesn't need dust bunny rulers.'_

'_**Why are you so confident about Naruto's abilities?'**_ Inner snorted curiously. Sakura remained silent. _**'I can hear your thoughts and the thoughts inside of your thoughts. Don't even **__**try**__** to trick me. Tell the truth.'**_

'_I'm confident of his abilities because he's a strong ninja with a lot of potential and great skill.'_ Sakura told her quickly, a small pink dusting over her cheeks as she breathed deeply, half-way meditating to build up her chakra for the jutsu.

'…_**So…you like him…as **__**more**__** than a friend.'**_ Inner stated with a wide smirked.

'…_I'm ignoring you because I need to concentrate on the jutsu and I am __**not**__ just avoiding the question.'_ Sakura lied. She looked over at Naruto and sweat-dropped when she saw him making faces, like puckering his lips and chuckling to himself, to concentrate.

-

'_Huh…now that's…__**interesting**__.'_ Sasuke thought in irritation. _'I can't even __**begin**__ to understand any of these questions.'_

-

'_Forget it…this is hopeless! What am I gonna do?'_ Naruto asked himself in fear of what Sakura and Sasuke would do to him if they fail due to his perfect zero. _'What'll I do? What'll I do? What'll I do? What'll I __**do**__?'_

Hinata, taking her best guess at number eight, looked over to see Naruto in a state of panic. She sympathised with him, knowing that her good friend Sakura wasn't the type to help someone cheat, even at the risk of failing herself. Gulping down her concern for her won safety, Hinata made a decision.

-

'_Okay…I'll do the easier ones my own. Number eight is easy enough for me not to use up too much energy, anyway. It's obviously the same complex equation as its parallel side based from the distribution of kunai and the bad aim of ninja X. How much simpler can you get?'_ Sakura smirked to herself.

'_**Umm…a chicken?'**_ Inner guessed randomly. Sakura rolled her eyes and continued.

'_Hm, number nine; if ninja A and ninja F meet and battle, jumping from point B to point E, and ninja D was three feet away with a kunai, launched at ninja A with a speed of 0.91 metres per second for a total of three seconds and hits ninja C at point G, what was the total travelling time of a senbon thrown at half the speed but from ninja A at point H to ninja F at point I, one hundred and three centimetres away? Explain your answer in detail and then calculate the travelling time of the senbon if it was thrown at ninja D by ninja F.'_ Sakura pondered before smirking and writing down her answer within the space of eleven seconds.

'_**How do you do that? Why are you so smart?'**_ Inner asked in awe.

'_Well, I'm just good at this.'_ Sakura shrugged mentally.

-

'_Okay, don't panic, don't panic.'_ Naruto thought to himself. _'There's only one thing to do…I'll just have to cheat and not get caught.'_ He thought insanely. Ibiki walked across the front of the room and Naruto pounded his skull against the desk. _'And risk getting thrown out with Sakura-chan and the teme?! Yeah right! I CAN'T DO THAT!'_

-

'_It's strange.'_ Sasuke noticed as he looked at the closest sentinel. _'They make more of a fuss about cheating than they do about the actual test itself. These sentinels…watching our every move…__**trying**__ to catch one-'_ He cut off his own thought and sweat dropped when the sentinel he was watching wrote something down. _'…Somebody just got nailed.'_

-

'_I'M BORED!'_ Sakura declared.

'_**We could mess with the others a bit…like that one sentinel who looks like he's sitting on a nail.'**_ Inner sniggered.

'_Done.'_ The pinkette smirked. She inhaled and coughed loudly, her keen eyes trained on the stiff sentinel. As soon as her coughing began, he seemed to jump a little, causing Sakura to smirk.

"Quiet back there!" Ibiki called back to her.

"No worries, Ibi-chan." She mocked. He glared at her and carried on walking as Sakura placed her paper face-down and put her feet up on her desk.

"Number 79, explain your current lazing." Ibiki demanded as he suddenly appeared next to her, talking in her ear. Everyone gasped as his speed, but Sakura just blinked and smirked.

"Let's see…nope. I'm good. No explanations here." Sakura sighed and shook her head. The boys next to her tried to cover their sniggers with their hands.

"Fine…just don't even think that this'll distract us so you can cheat." Ibiki grumbled to himself as he walked back to the front.

"Again; no worries, Ibi-chan." She teased. He turned and glared at her, but all Sakura did was smirk. As soon as he was back at the front, Sakura turned to look at the mysterious boy in the straw hat who sat next to Sasuke. He was, as she predicted, staring at her. She glared.

-

'_Why the heck is Sakura treating this like it's so easy?! How come she can treat this test like a walk in the park and I can't?'_ Sasuke asked himself in anger. _'No cheating…again, they made a bigger deal out of that than they did about her rudeness and lack of respect. And, what's with the whole two point deduction? Why only two? It doesn't make sense. Ordinarily, if someone gets caught cheating even once then it's grounds for dismissal right there.'_ He felt someone staring at him and turned to look up, his eyes meeting with Sakura's.

She looked him dead in the eyes and nodded. Sasuke understood.

[--

"_Anyone fool enough to be caught by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here." The proctor continued._

"_I've got my eye on you guys." One of the sentinels, the one who posed as a Genin with spiked hair, warned two Genin close to him who looked bored. They stiffened and straightened up with gasps immediately after he spoke._

"_If you want to be considered shinobi, and then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be." He smiled sadistically._

[--

'_So that's it. Yeah.'_ Sasuke realised. _'This is about more than just a written exam. The real aim is not to test our knowledge, but our ability to gather information.'_ He discovered.

'_I think that my seatmate is actually getting the idea. Took him long enough.'_ Tsuki, who was the one sitting next to Sasuke and staring at Sakura, rolled his eyes under the shadow of his straw hat. _'Man, why can't I just take off my hat and show Sakura who I am?! She keeps glaring at me and it's driving me __**nuts**__!'_

'_Yeah, that explains everything. The eagle-eyed sentinels everywhere, these incredibly hard questions, the fact that only __**two**__ points are deduced for every incident of cheating. Very cleaver, I must admit. As Kakashi-sensei said; a ninja must see underneath the underneath.'_ Sasuke smirked.

'_Wow…this guy is really hot.'_ The girl next to Sasuke thought in her own dream-world. _'We'd be a perfect couple…WAIT! The test! I haven't even turned it over yet! But…he's too good looking for me to look away…wow, this guy is really hot.'_

'_He's not forbidding us from cheating, but expecting us to. He's daring us to try and cheat and not to get caught, and only exceptional shinobi could get away with it under these circumstances. That's what this test it all about. Thank you, Sakura.'_ He sighed, looking at a certain orange back in front of him._ 'Come on, Naruto, figure it out. Use your head before it's too late.'_

-

Naruto bounced his legs up and down under the table as the hand holding his pencil shook almost violently. His paper, still blank, sat untouched in front of him as he continued to sweat and his nervousness grew to an almost unbearable level. Tears of fear and frustration filled his eyes as he stared at the front.

'_This is bad. This is very bad.'_ He repeated in his head as a sort of mantra.

-

'_Okay, so if the __**real**__ test here is finding out a way to steal the answers without getting caught…the next question is to figure out who's got all of the answers.'_ Sasuke noted.

-

Gaara held his hand a small way above his desk, holding his pencil in his other hand. Sand swirled around the arm he was holding out as he called it to his aid.

-

'_Looks like Gaara's figured it out.'_ Kankuro thought in relief from a few desks behind Gaara. _'Okay, Crow…I'm counting on you.'_ He sighed, closing his eyes as a sentinel with black spiked hair and sharp blank white eyes looked to the side.

The sentinel looked around the room, checking for cheaters.

-

Akamaru sat atop Kiba's head, looking around. The sentinels and guards couldn't take Akamaru away, because Kiba was an Inuzuka and therefore a dog-nin, meaning that he had every right to have Akamaru with him at all times. Kiba twirled his pencil in his hand as Akamaru looked around, finding the answers and barking them to his master.

"Good boy." Kiba rewarded as he jotted down yet another answer. "Yeah, that'll do it. Okay, now for number four." The puppy looked around yet again and his eyes moved to the boy in front of Kiba, one seat to the left. Akamaru yipped and looked at the sheet, seeing the answer. He barked it to Kiba.

-

The sound-nin with the fur on his back had his eyes closed and was listening to the inconsistent tapped of the pencil belonging to the ninja sat behind him. His ear twitched slightly as he strained it a little further to distinguish the noised and turn them into pictures in his mind of what the ninja was writing.

'_If I judge from the rhythm, the duration and the frequency of the strokes…'_ The ninja thought, picking up his pencil. _'Yes…I see.'_ He realised as he noted the answer. Another sound flitted in his ear—the sound of a fly buzzing around—but he dismissed it as the fly landed on the desk of the boy he was cheating off of.

An image of one ninja writing his answers on his paper became many more than one in the eyes of the fly that sat inconspicuously next to him on the desk. It stared at the sheet a while longer as the ninja carried on writing his answers, but was eventually swatted away. It flew across the room and perched on the index fingernail of a different ninja in the room.

"Well?" Shino asked the bug. "Show me." He ordered. The fly lifted itself from his finger and hovered over the test in front of him for a while before flying in a figure of eight. "Eight…of course." The bug-nin nodded to himself as he wrote the answer and sent his bug off again.

Mirrors above Shino—attached to the light above his head—moved and reflected not only light, but Shino's paper. The reflective glass moved as the strings attacked to them shifted as well. Following the strings, we find that they are attacked to the pencil of Rock Lee's brunette team mate. As she moved her pencil, the mirrors moved with it.

'_Okay, girl.'_ She told herself. _'Lee said that when he sees the sheet, he'd adjust his Hatei-ate. I just hope that this bug-guy is as smart as people say he is.'_ The girl sighed as she continued to move her pencil in her hand.

Lee looked up from his place, seeing the mirror move again. As soon as it moved into the right position, he untied his Hatei-ate from his waist and positioned it around his forehead, pulling it tight. That was the signal to his team mate to release the strings and to stop moving the mirrors. As it was, the mirrors stayed in place and Lee casually glanced up every now and then to take down the answers.

-

'_Man, I hate these tests!'_ Taiyoo thought from across the room. He let his eyes drift to the person sitting directly in front of his and sighed quietly when he saw that she was done. _'I should have known that she'd be smart enough to be finished already…well, I __**could**__ cheat from her, and if she accidentally discovers me doing it…then finds out who I am…NO! That damn brother of hers would find me out.'_

Taiyoo scowled at Juhi, who was sitting at the front on the left side of the room. He and Sakura were on the left side while Tsuki and Juhi were on the right. Thankfully, Sakura was still none the wiser about them being in Konoha. It was all ridiculous to the elders. Usually, Yuki-nin stayed in the village to take their exams, no matter where the actual Chunin exams were being held.

While he and his twin were the right age to appear as Genin going for the Chunin exams, Juhi was stretching it for a first timer. It was just lucky that the Konoha-nin didn't question them once Juhi explained that he was waiting for his team mates to become of age to graduate and go for the exams, since his previous team had gone straight for the Jounin exams and he was still a Genin. Idiots.

-

'_Damn!'_ Juhi thought as he shifted in his seat next to a boy with pupil-less lavender eyes and long brown hair. _'Taiyoo…I can tell what you're thinking and you better stop thinking it before I make you stop __**breathing**__! No one is seeing my baby sister without me!'_

-

Naruto pulled his hair as he rested his chin on the desk in front of him, only thinking about the continuous tick-tick-ticking of the clock on the wall at the front of the room. He was stressed over his—still blank—test and even more so over his lack of intellect to cover the appropriate blank spaces on the sheet.

'_Tick, tick, tick!'_ He thought in horror as the clock continued to make the unnervingly loud noise. _'Oh man, they couldn't have a digital clock? Argh; time's running out! That does it…I've got no choice! I've gotta cheat! Hang on, I can't do that. What if I get caught? What are Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme gonna think? On the other hand, if I don't get any of these right, I'm sunk and I'll take them down with me. Either way…I'm dead meat!'_

"N-Naruto-k-kun." A shy voice spoke out, breaking him from his panic ridden thoughts. Naruto blinked and looked at Hinata, who was—strangely enough—missing her usual blush.

'_She's always blushing.'_ Naruto noticed. _'Why not now?'_

"I-If you want…I could…I-I could show y-you my t-test." Hinata told him, smiling kindly while looking down at her completed paper.

'_Say what?'_ Naruto thought in shock as he ran over her proposition in his mind over and over again. _'She'd let me look at her test? Why would she wanna do that?'_ He asked himself. _'Unless, of course, it's some kind of trick. Yeah…I bet that's…no, Hinata-chan would __**never**__—unless that dog-breath forced her into it! I wouldn't put it passed them.'_

"Na…N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata called quietly when he didn't reply.

"Hinata-chan, can I ask you something?" He asked her. "Why would you wanna show me your answers?" The boy continued. Hinata gasped and clenched her fists slightly.

"Why?" She repeated. "Well…just because…S-Sakura-chan seems to really want you to pass, but sh-she is-isn't the t-type to h-help someone to ch-cheat…n-not when she's c-confident in th-their a-abilities." Hinata confessed, blushing. "A-And…it w-would be nice…if a-all of u-us could s-stick together…b-being r-rookies a-and all."

"That makes sense, I suppose." Naruto nodded with a grin. "Especially the part about Sakura-chan. That's just like her." He laughed, not noticing the shy Hyuuga clenching her fists.

'_You don't really know __**anything**__ about her!'_ Hinata wanted to yell, but Naruto was her friend…he was Naruto-kun, and she couldn't yell at him no matter how much her thoughts begged her to. Ignoring the urge to scream at him, Hinata lifted her arm slightly and slipped her paper in Naruto's direction.

As he was about to read the answers, a kunai flew passed him. It brushed his nose and caused him to yell out in fear of being de-nosed. However, the kunai kept going and placed a deep hole in someone else's paper, causing that boy to yell out too. He shook in fear and gulped, almost causing Sakura—who was sitting beside him—to laugh. This boy was none other than the brunette from cloud.

'_Whoa…h-how did they know? I hadn't even done anything yet.'_ Naruto shook after seeing his life flash before his eyes. The kunai glinted and the boy next to Sakura stood up, facing the sentinel who had thrown the weapon at him.

"What was that all about?" He asked in a shaky tone.

"Five strikes and you're out." The sentinel replied cockily as his bandaged nose released a sniff of amusement. "You just failed the test."

"What? It can't be." He replied.

"You and your team mates will leave the room immediately." The sentinel ordered as if the boy didn't speak. Two more boys stood up with glares directed at their team mate and made their way to the door, but the shaken up boy just shook in place. Naruto shook too before looking behind him at the scared boy.

"Candidate number 78: fail. Numbers 27 and 43: fail." The sentinel stated gruffly as he stared at the boy who didn't move.

"Come on." Sakura sighed, getting up and taking the brunette's arm as gently as she could manage. "Have some dignity." She snorted as she walked him to the front desks. The sentinel smirked.

"But, number 79, _you_ were the one he was cheating off of." The man smirked. Sakura looked pointedly at him and shrugged.

"Shit happens." She scoffed, taking him to the door. many people gasped at her blatant disregard for higher authority and her choice in word.

"Thanks." The cloud-nin said to her. "And sorry for cheating off you."

"Pff, whatever." Sakura shrugged. "Your team mates are gonna be pissed at you, so why should I tell you off?" She rolled her eyes and walked back to her desk, smirking at Naruto and Hinata on her way passed.

[--

"No! No way!" A Suna-nin yelled to a sentinel as he and his team were failed and told to leave. "Who says I cheated five times? Where's your proof?" He demanded, slamming his hand on the desk and standing up with written rage all over his face. "How can you possibly keep track of all of us? You've got the wrong guy! How do you know I wasn't just-!?"

He was cut off when the boy was slammed into the wall by the forearm of the sentinel he was arguing with. He grunted in pain and his body went limp, but he was not unconscious. Everyone gasped, but Sakura rolled her eyes and frowned over at the boy pinned to the wall.

"Sorry, pal." The sentinel mocked. "People like me were chosen for this duty because we don't _make_ mistakes like that. You can't even so much as _blink_ without us seeing it. We're the best of the best and you, my friend, are _history_." He bid as he released the boy and backed off a little bit. "Now, get out, and take your team mates with you."

"Psst, Naruto-k-kun." Hinata whispered to him, calling back his fearful mind from the scene. "G-Go ahead…l-look." She permitted, pushing her paper further towards him. Naruto heard a tapping noise and looked towards one of the sentinels, who was busy writing something on his board. The sentinel looked up and smirked at him, causing Naruto to gulp.

"Thank you." Naruto said with a small smile. "I appreciate it…but no. after all, I'm an ace ninja. I don't need to cheat to pass this. And if Sakura-chan thinks that I can do it, then I must be able to. You said so yourself, remember?" He grinned. Hinata frowned, but nodded nonetheless.

"Uhh, well, o-okay." Hinata said, looking at his blank sheet. "B-But…a-are you s-sure?"

"Yeah." Naruto confirmed for her. "Besides, if I got caught or anything, I wouldn't want you getting into trouble. Sakura-chan would kill me." He sighed as Hinata looked down.

'_Yeah…Sakura-chan d-does c-care about m-me.'_ Hinata smiled. She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "Yes, you're right. Stupid of me to suggest. Sorry." She whispered.

"Nah, forget about it." Naruto assured. _'Yeah right. I should go to get my head examined. When did I get so noble?'_ He asked himself. Someone behind him cleared their throat and Naruto turned, seeing Sakura's glare directed at him. _'Oh yeah…when Sakura-chan first threatened me.'_

-

'_Byakugan!'_ Neji thought as he preformed the right seals. He looked at the boy in front of him and saw right through his body, to his test. Smirking, the brunette took down the answers.

-

'_Sharingan!'_ Sasuke yelled mentally as his eyes swam into red and he smirked at his plan. _'I'll try imitating the movements of his pencil.'_ The boy thoughts, looking at the boy in front of him. _'Haha…bingo. I hit the jackpot with this guy.'_ He smirked as his hand moved his pencil in the same way.

-

Sakura sighed once her chakra was all flowing in perfect waves around her body for using the jutsu properly. She used her tiger seal under the table, seeing through the eyes of her brunette clone. The Chunin that the clone was next to was already on question four, and the clone looked closely at his paper. Taking some of her chakra back, Sakura's fingers twitched and picked up the pencil, writing down the same answers as the Chunin.

'_**What about Naruto?'**_ Inner added in coolly as Sakura read over the questions through the clone's eyes and transferred them to her own paper with Inner's help in moving her pencil across the paper.

'_He'll do his best.'_ Sakura frowned.

'_**Spell it with me now; C…H…E…A…T. It's a beautiful word with a marvellous meaning. USE IT!'**_ The alter-mind yelled.

'_NO!'_ Sakura yelled back, placing pencil to paper again as the Chunin finished question six. _'He'll do fine on his own just this once, Inner. He doesn't need me to baby him every second of every day.'_

She broke her trance with the clone, feeling a headache from overuse forming. Whenever that happened, she just needed to take a break before carrying on.Sakura massaged her temples and sighed before looking through the clone's eyes again.

'_Okay…my head hurts again.'_ Sakura frowned to herself.

'_**Relax and breath'**_ Inner told her. Sakura did so and the headache was soothed a little. _**'Remember, no healing jutsu. It could be seen as cheating here.'**_

'_Yeah, thanks.'_ Sakura thanked as she looked towards her clone and sighed, using the tiger seal again. _'Last question now.'_ She smirked to herself. Once the question was answered, Sakura and Inner schemed to get the clones kicked out and have a laugh all at the same time.

-

Yamanaka Ino smirked to herself as she watched Sakura laze, even going so far as to put her feet up on the desk in front of her. She growled when she noticed that Sakura had completed her test. No way would she let Sakura pass when she, herself, might fail.

'_Look at her.'_ Ino sneered. _'She's already finished! Okay, Sakura, you should feel honoured. You're the first person in the exams that I'm using my clan jutsu on. My Shintenshin no Jutsu'_ The blonde smirked as she placed her hands in the seal for tiger, not noticing Sakura doing the same.

-

'_Ugh, great.'_ Sakura thought glumly. _'Ino's going to take over my body as soon as I leave. She's already activated her clan jutsu.'_

'_**So? We'll both go over to the clone until she's done. That way, if she ever does it again, she won't know about me and it'll be a surprise for her!'**_ Inner suggested.

'_Fine. So, I'll let her displace my spirit while Rage draws us to the clone using her jutsu, right?'_ Sakura confirmed.

'_**Yep! And I'll be bringing the other Emotions with us.'**_ Inner grinned happily.

'_Pff, whatever.'_ Sakura rolled her eyes, using the tiger seal to attach her soul to Rage's.

-

Since Sakura had weakened her own soul, it was relatively easy for Ino to get inside. However, once Ino's soul left her own body, she slumped forwards and looked as if she'd fainted. No one around her paid her any attention, but got on with their own tests. Shikamaru, on the other hand, looked over to her immediately.

'_So, Ino's using her jutsu, I see. I wonder who she's got.'_ He mused, although only caring for the scored at the moment. _'About time, anyway, if you ask me.'_

-

'_Way to go, Ino.'_ Choji congratulated mentally. _'…But…She's got Sakura-san…'_ He sighed.

-

'_Thanks, Sakura, for letting me hand out in your head for a bit.'_ Ino smirked in Sakura's body. _'Now, I have to memorize her answers quick, so that I can pass them on to Choji and Shikamaru.'_ She realised as she picked up Sakura's test and read through it.

-

Once Sakura had control of her clone, she made her sneak peeks towards the Chunin obvious, like leaning over and staring over his shoulder. She started giggling loudly, and Sakura made the clone look back at her test and write the answer. One of the sentinels caught her, and took down her name while shaking his head in disapproval.

One strike.

Smirking, Sakura then made her clone move closer to the Chunin, looking at the next answer. She gasped obviously and looked around, moving her head a lot before, laughing and writing her answer. The sentinel caught her again.

Two strikes.

Now wondering if these sentinels are idiots not to notice how fake this was, Sakura leaned towards the Chunin. "What's the answer to question three?" She asked loudly. Several people sniggered at her bad try at cheating and the Chunin frowned while the sentinel wrote another strike next to her name.

Three strikes.

Next, Sakura took 'sneaky' looks around her before standing up and looking towards one of her other clones. Once she found one, she started to signal the answer. She put up four of her fingers—question four—and then held up all of her fingers and one thumb, showing the answer to be nine. Once again, the sentinel took down a strike.

Four strikes.

"I'm stuck on five! Do you have the answer!?" Sakura yelled to her second clone out of three.

"No!" The clone yelled back.

"Number 6 and team, leave." One of the sentinels called. Sakura released her clone to walk out with the others, smirking slightly as she did so.

Five strikes and you're out.

-

'_What am I going to do now? I've finished my test and Ino's still not done in my body. I can't just wait outside the academy in this form forever, ya know.'_ Sakura sighed out loud, drawing the attention of one of the passers by.

'_**Why didn't anyone notice that there were three extra people in the exams?'**_ Inner asked in confusion. Sakura smirked.

'_I entered them under a fake sensei with a fake team from Grass. They were my back-up plan, to use if I needed them. Looks like they were of use after all.'_ Sakura replied.

'_**Do you have another fake team? Just in case?'**_

'_No. I'm good, but I can't put too many fake teams in. That would be obvious and I'd get caught.'_ Sakura told her.

'_**So…what's the technique we used all about?'**_ Inner enquired.

'_It's like the Yamanaka technique, except I don't leave my body. I'm just seeing through a different point of view.'_

'_**Ha! The Yamanaka clan is out of a job then, ne?'**_

'_No. I can never hold it for as long as a Yamanaka. Their technique is much better, but mine does the trick. I lose chakra through the clone, through seeing in the clone's eyes and through letting an emotion into the clone to allow me to see through her eyes. It's too hard to see through my clone's eyes for more than a few minuets at a time, so I can't stick around for the best information, like the Yamanaka clan do. Also, you remember that it took me almost half of the testing time just to get my chakra flows right. If it wasn't a clone, then that would have taken a lot longer. My technique is minor compared to theirs, but based on the Yamanaka clan jutsu.'_ She admitted.

'_**Well, it's good for this exam.'**_ Inner shrugged, Sakura nodding in agreement.

'_Yeah._'

'_**Do you think Yamanaka's done yet?'**_ Inner mused, humming to herself.

'_No, she's…wait…FINALLY!'_ Sakura sighed, releasing the clone to proceed to an alley to vanish while she herself went back to her body.

-

"Number 59, you fail."

"Numbers 33 and 9: fail."

'_That's the fifteenth team to be dismissed.'_ Kabuto noted as he frowned without his glasses on.

"Number 41: fail!"

"Numbers 35 and 62: fail."

Gaara ignored the world around him and all the yelling going on about 'not cheating' and 'failure'. He gathered his sand and covered his right eye with his left index and middle fingers. Ibiki looked at him, seeing how nothing phased the boy's perfect concentration. He frowned and narrowed his eyes, not seeing a single slip in anything that would resemble even slight acknowledgement of the racket.

'_Look at this guy. Cool as a cucumber.'_ Ibiki noticed. _'Stays focused as if nothing was happening.'_ He paused and smirked. _'Not bad for a novice.'_

-

Gaara concentrated on the sand gathering in his upturned palm more so than he dared to concentrate on the room. The only time he stopped controlling the sand to see what was going on was when he heard a small thump. He saw the pink haired girl he had spoken to a few days before the exams—her name was Sakura, if he remembered right—resting her head on her arms. Then, not two seconds later, she was fully alert again.

Shrugging off the odd behaviour as a jutsu or something, Gaara carried on with his sand-collecting. Tensing his hand into an almost-fist, Gaara made the sand become an average-sized eyeball with a brown iris. No one noticed this and he didn't uncover his right eye for even a second once the eyeball was summoned.

'_The opening of the third eye.'_ Gaara thought to himself as he saw what the eye saw through his covered eye. _'Invisibly linked to the optic nerve.'_

The pupil of the eye shrank and grew again as Gaara crushed it into sand partials and had them travel the room until he found a person who had completed the test with sufficient answers. Once the 'victim' was found, Gaara added extra sand to the small amount and made it go in the boy's eyes, so that he wouldn't see the eye Gaara was using to cheat.

"Ow, I've got something in my eye." The boy complained as he rubbed his eyes to get it out. While he was busy doing this, the third eye formed and looked over the page, showing the answers to Gaara. The redhead picked up his pencil and, while using the third eye to see the sheet, copied the answers onto his own paper.

-

"Uh, excuse me?" Kankuro called, putting his hand up.

"What is it?" One of the sentinels asked gruffly. Kankuro took down his hand and grinned sheepishly.

"I gotta use the can. Sorry." He apologised. One of the sentinels got up and placed handcuffs around his wrists. Once they were secure, he also tied a rope to the centre of the cuffs to lead Kankuro to the bathroom.

"We go with you to make sure you're not up to anything." The pupil-and-iris-less sentinel told the younger boy calmly and strictly.

"That's perfectly understandable." Kankuro smiled as he was lead out. He caught Sakura looking his way and spared a wink, to which she replied with a scoff and an eye-roll.

-

"Security is pretty tight around here, but these sentinels aren't quite as eagle-eyed as everybody thinks." Kankuro mused as he stood in front of a urinal in the boy's bathroom. "After all, they haven't even realised that there's one more sentinel than there used to be." He chuckled. "Right, Crow?"

The sentinel didn't answer. Instead, part of his face crumbled away to reveal wood underneath his 'skin'.

-

'_Only twenty minutes left and I haven't done squat.'_ Naruto worried as he watched the clock. _'I'm so busted…unless…in five minutes, they'll give out the tenth question. So that's what it comes down to. Everything's riding on that. Dattebayo!'_

The Tenth Question: All or Nothing!

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

Sakura sighed as she sorted out her fringe so that it partially covered her eyes again. Ino seemed to find it difficult to read without using the ribbon the pinkette's wrist to hold it back. That annoyed Sakura to no end, since Ino had no right to touch the ribbon whether it was with her hand or not, and she re-tied it to her wrist, looking over her paper to make sure Ino hadn't messed anything up.

Morino Ibiki smirked as he looked over his class of miscreants, rascals, punks, criminals and Hinata—for, as I'm sure you know, Hinata isn't a miscreant, rascal, punk _or_ criminal. He let his eyes sweep over them, one by one, seeing the numbers finally reduced. Some were sweating, some were frowning and most were freaked.

"Hn. Now that we've weeded out most of the _hopeless_ cases, fifteen minutes to go." Ibiki stated to them all. "Time for the main event. All right! Listen up, here's the tenth and final question."

'_Here we go.'_ Naruto gulped, his hand tightening into a fist around his pencil. _'Everything's riding on this one. Dattebayo.'_

'_Hn…man, this guy's full of himself.'_ Sasuke thought as he looked at Ibiki, as if he wasn't full of himself too. No, Sasuke isn't full of himself. Not at all. Nope. He just seems to believe that he's the greatest ninja that ever lived and that anyone who opposed him deserved to rot in the fiery pits of eternal damnation. But, he's _not_ full of himself.

'_Tch…it's about time.'_ Sakura sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face and running her fingers through the knots Ino had made when she tied her bangs back.

'_Hurry up, Kankuro.'_ Temari frowned mentally. _'What good is your cheat-sheet going to be if you miss the tenth question?'_

"But, before I give you the question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of." Ibiki stated darkly.

The door creaked open and Kankuro stepped in with a smile on his paint-covered face. He paused and muttered his confusion when he saw that everyone was silent, facing the front and had their pencils down. The sentinel, Crow in disguise, walked slowly after him and Ibiki looked up with a smirk.

"Ah, made it just in time." He said in amusement as the sentinel behind the boy slid the door shut. "I hope you found your trip to the bathroom enlightening."

'_He's seen through the Crow's disguise.'_ Kankuro thought in panic. _'He's on to us!'_ He gulped as Ibiki smirked again.

"I think that you-"

"Oi!" A girl called from the middle. "Come on, he just went to the bathroom. It's not his fault if he takes longer than the average Sasuke-fangirl does." Sakura—who had yelled out—rolled her eyes. "The question?" She hinted.

"Right." He grunted, looking at Kankuro. "Well? Take your seat." The examiner ordered gruffly.

Kankuro paused, looking over at Sakura, before walking to his seat. As he passed Temari, he dropped a small capsule onto her desk, not slowing nor doing anything that might give him away. He then sat down and Ibiki took a step forwards, continuing his speech.

"These rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully and try not to let them frighten you." He warned.

[--

"It's quiet without the rookies around." Kakashi stated casually as he sat with Kurenai and Asuma outside the academy. "Hm. I almost miss 'em."

"Don't worry. Chances are, they'll be back sooner than you think." Asuma assured him.

"Why's that?" Kakashi enquired suspiciously. Asuma sighed and lowered his cigarette to the ashtray next to him, tapping it on the grates to get rid of the ashes on the end.

"I heard that their first examiner this year is Ibiki." He informed the silverette.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked. _'So, already their chances of passing look iffy.'_ He thought to himself. "_Great_. Sticking them with _that_ sadist right off the bat." The man stated without a care in the world as he leaned on the back of his seat.

"Hm? What sadist?" Kurenai asked curiously. Asuma chuckled, getting her attention.

"I forgot you were a new Jounin, Kurenai. Otherwise you wouldn't have to ask that." He told her. Kurenai leaned towards him slightly, her interest caught.

"So I'm ignorant." She huffed. "Who is he?" The woman asked, turning now to Kakashi.

"He's what you might call…a specialist." Kakashi said, choosing his words carefully.

"Oh yeah?" She asked, turning back to Asuma. "In what?" The woman asked him. Asuma took a long breath of his cigarette and released the smoke before turning to her with a mischievous half-grin.

"Interrogation…torture." He listed. Kurenai's eyes widened. "Oh, of course he won't be using physical torture during the test. He won't need to. It's not really his forte, anyway. He works on people's minds, not their bodies."

"He's famous for it." Kakashi added in. "Everyone knows of the head of the ANBU torture and interrogation core for Konohagakure. He and this proctor are one in the same. Morino Ibiki."

[--

'_If even the rules are scary,'_ Naruto gulped. _'Then what's the question like?'_

"Very well then. Rule number one: each of you is free to chose not to be given the final question. It's your decision." He told them. Naruto looked up in shock, as did everyone else.

'_Say what?'_ Sasuke asked himself. _'We're free to choose?'_

"Woah! So what's the catch?" Temari asked snappily. "If we decide we don't wanna do it; what happens then?"

"If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero." Ibiki smirked. "In other words, you fail. And that means, of course, that both your team mates fail as well."

"Who would choose to fail?"

"Is he deranged?"

"Of course we'll do it now!"

"Who wants to fail?"

"Should I do it?"

"I don't wanna lose!"

Many mutters and statements of this sort travelled around the classroom as Ibiki let them talk for the time being. One man—who had a funny, curly, bushy brown moustache in the front and looks scarily like Geppetto from Pinocchio—remained quiet at the front, just staring into nothingness like he was dead or planning dead. Freaky.

"Not so fast." Ibiki said quietly, silencing the Genin in the room. "You didn't let me finish."

'_Grrrr! More rules? Enough already!'_ Sakura complained mentally.

"If you accept the question, but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail…YOU WILL BE BANNED FROM TAKING THE CHUNIN EXAM EVER AGAIN!" He threatened loudly.

"Hey! That's _bull_ man!" Kiba yelled, standing up and pointing angrily at Ibiki as Akamaru growled. "That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that?! There're lots of people here who've taken the teat before!" He stated and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Ibiki chuckled.

"I guess you're just…unlucky." He stated in amusement. "I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you don't wanna take it, you don't have to."

"Huh?" Kiba asked, taken aback.

"If you're not feeling confident, then—by all means—skip it. You can come back and try again next year." He told them, chuckling again.

'_Great. Just, great. __**Wonderful**__ in fact! I can't wait to begin!'_ Sakura groaned sarcastically as she gritted her teeth.

'_**Cha! This sucks! I want a normal test!'**_ Inner yelled, flailing her fists around in anger.

'_Too bad we can't get one. I have to do the tenth question…but, if I don't get it right, then I don't get another shot.'_ She swallowed, looking around the room. Her eyes fell on one of the people in straw hats.

'_**QUIT! I wanna be a Chunin, and you can't do that if you fail!'**_ Inner whined.

'_No…I __**have**__ to do this. If for nothing else, then to find out why those ninja seemed so familiar!'_ She stated in determination.

"Now then, if you're ready." Ibiki began. "The tenth and final question. Those who don't wanna take it, raise your hand." He ordered. "Your number will be recorded and then you can go."

'_What could the question be? What if it's easy?'_ Naruto wondered, fighting himself about leaving. _'What if it's not?! If I get it wrong, I'll be a Genin for the rest of my life. And the way things are going…but I can't just skip it! Then we'll all fail! I can't do that to the others!'_

'_Well, __**I'm**__ okay. Ibi-chan's not getting __**me**__ to back out.'_ Sakura thought in determination. _'But…Naruto…'_

'_**PUT YOUR STINKIN' HAND UP, NARU-NARU-CHAN!'**_ Inner Sakura roared.

'_NO! He can do it!'_ Sakura replied. _'I…I have faith in you Naruto!'_

'_**You SO like him!'**_ Inner accused.

'…_what's your point?'_ Sakura blushed.

A pencil dropped and the boy next to Naruto raised his hand.

"I'm out." He stated, standing up and lowering his hand. "I just can't deal with this pressure."

"Number 52; fail! Number 130, number 113, that mean's you're out too."

"Geni…Eiho…I'm sorry guys." Number 52 stated as the aforementioned boys stood up to leave with him. "I'm sorry."

"That's it, I quit!" Another hand went up.

"Me too, sir." Another hand.

"Yeah."

"I'm out."

Another hand and another, then again and again. Hands raised up and people muttered apologise and curses as sentinels took down numbers and dismissed the Genin. Many more walked out after number 52, Geni and Eiho. Many, many more. Naruto just looked at his hand, gulping ad wondering what to do.

"Come on, Naruto. You can pass." Sakura whispered to herself, a genuine smile on her face as she tried to cover it by looking down at her desk.

'_**Love? Desire?'**_ Inner asked, question the two emotions that would know if Sakura's like for Naruto was love, like or just a crush.

'_**Well…I really like him…and a lot of other boys.**__**'**_ Desire told her.

'_**Love?'**_

'…_**He's true in pure mind and love undying in faith**__**'**_ Love stated wistfully with a smile.

'_**Err…in people speak?'**_

'_Not telling.'_ Sakura smirked, interrupting and silencing Desire and Love before they could spill the truth. She then sighed and looked back up at Naruto's back, her face now free from both her smile and her blush. She clenched her teeth and glared when she saw Naruto's hand rising in the air.

'_**N…Naru-chan?'**_ Inner thought in shock.

'_No! Don't do it Naruto!'_ Sakura screamed.

[--

"You see, this guy, Ibiki, is a master of interrogation because he understands how the human mind works." Asuma told the red-eyed woman, taking another breath of smoke.

"He knows just where to probe to uncover your weaknesses." Kakashi added as team ten's sensei released his smoke. "The thing is; he's so good at his job that he doesn't use physical torture. He doesn't need to."

"He just messes up your head so bad…you torture yourself." Asuma concluded.

[--

Naruto gritted his teeth as he held his hand in the air shakily. Sakura sighed and shook her head in disappointment as Sasuke glared at the blonde who cost him his first Chunin exam. Hinata just looked shocked at his un-Naruto-like behaviour. That is, until he sneered and slammed his hand down on the table.

"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run!" Naruto declared proudly. "You can act tough all you want! You'll never scare _me_ off! No way! I don't care if I _do_ get stuck as a Genin for the _rest of my life_!" He stood up, glaring at Ibiki. "I'll _still_ be Hokage someday!" He pronounced, sitting down with a pout as Hinata smiled brightly at him.

'_Hn. He's completely clueless, but he's still going for it.'_ Sasuke sighed mentally, half relieved that Naruto didn't quit. _'The shrimp's got guts, I'll give him that.'_

'_**THAT'S THE KNUCKLEHEAD WE KNOW AND LOVE!'**_ Inner cheered loudly. Sakura agreed mentally with a smile.

'_Absolutely.'_ She said, not denying anything.

"This decision is one that could change your life." Ibiki stated. "If, for any reason, you would rather quit…now's your chance."

"No way. I never go back on my word." Naruto claimed. "That's my way of the ninja."

'_Hm…remarkable. That little outburst has even given the sheepish ones some backbone.'_ Ibiki noticed. _'He's inspired them into staying. Seventy eight left…more than I expected. But, I don't see anyone wavering. I think that's it.'_

Ibiki cast a glance at the sentinels at the side of the room. They all nodded to him and he returned the gesture before turning back to the Genin left.

"Well then, I admire the determination all of you are now showing, if nothing else." Ibiki admitted. "For those of you remaining, there's just one more thing left to do…and that's for me to tell you…that you've all passed the first exam." He stated with a grin.

Everyone sat in shock. Naruto dropped his pencil and blinked, as if to make sure this was real and he hadn't just fallen asleep. Sakura frowned in confusion, also blinking, but she was biting her lip too. After a few moments, she stood from her chair and slammed her fists on the desk.

"Hold on! What just happened?" She asked. _'This never happened in Yukigakure! I thought that Chunin exams were mostly the same, no matter where you went!'_ The pinkette added mentally. "Where's the tenth question?!" She demanded. Ibiki grinned again and chuckled.

"There never was one." He admitted casually. "Not a written one, at least. Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question."

"Wait a second!" Temari yelled from near the back. "So the other nine questions you gave us were just a waste of time. Is that what you're saying?!"

"No, no, not at all." Ibiki told her. "Quite the opposite. The first nine questions had an important overriding purpose. To surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances."

"Oh, well that clears up _everything_." The sandy-blonde-haired girl replied sarcastically.

"Let me explain. You see, my objective was to test you, not only as individuals, but also as a team, and on how well you function as a part of that team. That's why the test was scored on a _team_ basis, so you'd know that everything you did—or _failed_ to do—would directly affect your team mates. I wanted to see how you'd handle the pressure."

"Mmhmm, yeah, I figured it was something like that. That's why I kept my cool." Naruto lied as he nodded.

'_Yeah right. What a liar.'_ Sakura smirked. Hinata giggled next to him.

"The first nine questions on the test were difficult. In fact, as you may have realised, too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve." Ibiki continued. "I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion; that you'd have to cheat if you wanted to have any chance of passing. The fact is; the test was designed to _encourage_ cheating. It almost _demanded_ it."

[--

_She broke her trance with the clone, feeling a headache from overuse forming._

-

_Akamaru yipped and looked at the sheet, seeing the answer. He barked it to Kiba._

-

_His ear twitched slightly as he strained it a little further to distinguish the noised and turn them into pictures in his mind of what the ninja was writing._

-

_The fly lifted itself from his finger and hovered over the test in front of him for a while before flying in a figure of eight._

-

_As she moved her pencil, the mirrors moved with it._

-

"_Five strikes and you're out." The sentinel replied cockily as his bandaged nose released a sniff of amusement. "You just failed the test."_

-

"_Psst, Naruto-k-kun." Hinata whispered to him, calling back his fearful mind from the scene. "G-Go ahead…l-look." She permitted, pushing her paper further towards him._

-

'_**Byakugan!'**_ _Neji thought as he preformed the right seals._

-

'_**Sharingan!'**__ Sasuke yelled mentally as his eyes swam into red and he smirked at his plan._

-

_Since Sakura had weakened her own soul, it was relatively easy for Ino to get inside. However, once Ino's soul left her own body, she slumped forwards and looked as if she'd fainted._

-

"_I'm stuck on five! Do you have the answer!?" Sakura yelled to her second clone out of three._

-

_Tensing his hand into an almost-fist, Gaara made the sand become an average-sized eyeball with a brown iris._

-

_As he passed Temari, he dropped a small capsule onto her desk, not slowing nor doing anything that might give him away._

[--

"Now, no one can cheat without having someone to cheat _from_." Ibiki carried on. "So I disguised two Chunin who knew the answers and had them sit in with you." He stated as two boys, one in the middle and the other that Sakura's clone sat next to, waved.

'_Gah! The answers were right in front of me the whole time!'_ Naruto yelled at himself.

"What is that kid's problem?" One Genin asked as Naruto freaked.

"I don't know." Another replied. Naruto's ear twitched as he heard them and he leaned back, trying to act 'cool'.

"Oh please. I wasn't fooled for a second!" He lied. "You'd have to be a complete baka not to see it. Isn't that right, Hinata-chan?" The blonde asked his seatmate and friend.

'_Incredible.'_ Sasuke thought with a sweat-drop. _'So the whole time…he never knew.'_

"Those who were caught at it failed." The proctor told them. "Better not to cheat, that to cheat clumsily." He added, untying his Hatei-ate and removing it. "Information. It can be you biggest ally in battle. How well you gather it can lead to mission failure or success." His head was covered with scars, burns, wounds and all sorts. "There'll be times you have to risk your life to get it."

'_I see.'_ Sakura thought, subconsciously rubbing the bruise on her cheek.

"Man, what a mess." Sasuke said out loud. "Scars, puncture wounds, burn marks…boy, he must've endured." He noted. Naruto gulped.

"Of course, you must always consider the source of your information." He said, re-tying his Hatei-ate. "Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not always accurate. Never forget this. Misinformation can be worse than _no_ information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or the death of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat, in order to survive."

'_**Ha! I told you!'**_ Inner boasted.

"That's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you." He smirked.

"Okay, but I'm still not getting what the tenth question thing was all about." Temari admitted slowly, like she was talking to a child.

"You not?" Ibiki asked her as if she were stupid. "The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam. Surely you see that."

"Of course we do!" Sakura rolled her eyes. "…But explain it anyway." She added, clearing her throat.

"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals, but also as part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices." He paused and put one hand in his pocket while raising the other with his index and middle fingers up.

"And they were…" Sakura prompted.

"You could choose to play it save and skip the question, though it meant that both you and your team mates would be failed. Or you could try and answer it, knowing that if you got it wrong you would lose your chance of ever being Chunin. It was a no win situation."

"I get it." Temari nodded.

"These are the choices Chunin have to face everyday. For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission: to steel a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you. You might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Do you have the option of not doing the mission? Can you say that you and your comrades would prefer to fight another day? No."

"You're kidding me." Kiba whispered to himself as Akamaru whimpered.

"There will be more suicidal missions that anyone could count. But you do not think about it. You think only of the goal and of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a Chunin squad leader. Those who chose the safer of two paths. Those who's determination falters in the face of adversity. Those who would put their comrade's lives in jeopardy, but worrying about their own. Those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honour. Those people will never be able to call themselves Chunin."

"Scum." Sakura agreed.

"As for the rest of you—who answered the ten questions I gave to you—you have the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin selection exam completed. There's nothing left, but to wish you all good luck."

"All right!" Naruto cheered. "We did it! That's one down!"

'_He's a funny one, that kid.'_ Ibiki mused. A ball approached the window fast and Ibiki looked at it in suspicion. It crashed through the window and threw kunai onto the ceiling to pin a black cloth up behind it.

"Is this…part of the test?" Naruto asked fearfully as the 'ball' straightened up into a person.

'_A show-off as usual.'_ Ibiki sighed mentally.

"Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating." The person stated. It was a woman. "I'll be your next proctor, Mitarashi Anko. You ready for the second test?" She asked. "Good! Let's go! Follow me!" Anko then said, not giving anyone time to reply.

Anko wore a fishnet top, fishnet under shorts that cut off at her knees, a dark brown miniskirt with straps on the front and a light brown trench coat with a purple lining and black ninja sandals on her feet. Her legs were also protected from her ankles to her knees with white leg-guards and around her neck attached to a thin rope was a medium-sized dark blue pendant. Her hair was dark indigo and it was styled with messy bangs around her face and across her forehead—where her Hatei-ate sat—and a spiky ponytail in the back. Her eyes were dark grey.

After her outburst, everyone just stared at her with a sweat-drop, a freaked-out expression or with a raised brow. Then some people, like Shino and Gaara, just looked at her stoically without a sign of life present on their faces at all. Ibiki stepped out from behind the black cloth, which read in white 'Welcome your next Chunin exam proctor; Mitarashi Anko!'

"You're early…again." He stated as Anko blushed and sweat-dropped at her own show.

'_Great, a screaming nut-case. She's sorta like Naruto.'_ Sasuke sighed, not looking forward to his next test with the woman he thought of as a complete freak.

"Woah, how many are there?" Anko asked herself as she looked over the Genin in the room. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was way too easy. You must be getting soft." She accused.

"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year." Ibiki stated.

"Hmm, they sure don't look it." Anko mused. "Trust me. When I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated."

"More than half? Either you're deranged or we're not as strong as we think we are." Sakura shrugged. "I'm gonna go with the second one, because I don't know about the rest of these guys, but the rookie nine is gonna kick some ass."

"What did you say?" Anko growled.

"Don't pay any attention to pinkie. She's just bored and looking for something to entertain her." Ibiki sighed.

"Oh, she wont be bored during _my_ test." Anko smirked, looking up at Sakura for the first time. She gasped. _'No…it can be her. Who would've thought that we'd ever meet?'_ Anko thought with a frown.

"Bored? That's an understatement." Sakura scoffed, breaking Anko from her thoughts and snapping her back into proctor-mode.

"Alright, maggots! You've had it easy so far, but things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning." She began. "I'll let your squad leader know where you're to meet me. _Dismissed_." She said, stating the final word mockingly.

[--

Later that day, Sakura picked up Inari from his babysitter and he hugged the life out of her. When she pried him off and they were on their way home, he began to ask questions.

"How was your day, onee-sama?" Inari enquired. Sakura sighed.

"Boring and pointless." She replied. "The proctor for the test thought he was above everyone else and the proctor for my next exam was a complete nut-job." The girl rolled her eyes.

"What about the other teams?"

"Well, there's this one freaky kid who can whoop Sasuke's ass with his taijutsu. He loves me or something like that. Then there's this guy with the same eyes as Hinata-chan, and then Kabuto, and he's just plain weird." She told him.

"Anyone else?" Inari prompted.

"Well, there's this team in conical straw hats. I feel like I know them from somewhere." She admitted.

"You do, Sakura-chan." A male voice interrupted as the boys jumped down in front of her and Inari.

The ones on either side of the one who spoke wore white karate bottoms, black ninja sandals and grey, hooded jumpers with long sleeves and a yellow circle on either shoulder. Sakura's eyes widened. The boy in the centre had the same style of trousers and sandals, but he wore red Chinese-style Mandarin Top with white cuffs and a white circle on each shoulder. He also wore black, fingerless gloves and a black belt with pouches and compartments attacked to it.

"Y-You're…" She trailed off, looking at the clan symbols on their shirts.

"Hey, imouto-chan." The one in the centre whispered as they all took off their hats.

"No." Sakura voiced as she took a step back, holding tightly to Inari's hand.

"Sakura-chan." Taiyoo called with a smile on his face. The smile dropped when she took another step back.

"Stay away from me!" She screamed, running off and taking Inari with her.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Juhi sighed.

"She just needs time." Taiyoo assured them. Tsuki said nothing. He just frowned and clenched his fists before he disappeared back to their temporary home in a sprinkle of snowflakes. Juhi and Taiyoo soon did the same.

[--

The next day, all of the passing Genin stood outside a fenced off forest with sighs posted all over the wire fencing that said things like 'restricted area' and 'keep out' or even 'danger'. Naruto gulped slightly as Sakura just stood blankly. She'd been like that since they met up that morning after she'd dropped Inari off at his babysitter's, but they dared not ask why.

"Woah…nice place." Naruto said for lack of any other words.

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam." Anko stated. "It's the forty fourth battle training zone. But wee call it…the forest of death."

"Forest of…death?" Naruto echoed.


	15. Stage Two: Sakura's True Mission!

Chapter Fifteen

Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death!

The next day, all of the passing Genin stood outside a fenced off forest with sighs posted all over the wire fencing that said things like 'restricted area' and 'keep out' or even 'danger'. Naruto gulped slightly as Sakura just stood blankly. She'd been like that since they met up that morning after she'd dropped Inari off at his babysitter's, but they dared not ask why.

"Woah…nice place." Naruto said for lack of any other words. "What is it?"

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam." Anko stated. "It's the forty fourth battle training zone. But we call it…the forest of death."

"Forest of…death?" Naruto echoed as a wind swept passed them and ruffled their hair and clothing. Sakura frowned and looked around for her brother and the twins. She sighed and looked back to the forest, deciding to find them later.

A square brown rock scurried towards Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke as they were looking at the forest ahead of them. Naruto turned and saw the box move, but it stilled soon enough and sounds of shushing could be heard from the bad disguise.

'_Fake rocks?'_ He asked himself as his eyebrow twitched. _'What's up with that?'_

Naruto stepped forwards, passed his team mates and then passed Kabuto and his team. The rock was reluctant at first, but followed him soon after he moved. Seeing it follow him, Naruto ran one way, turned and ran the other way, then the other way and then the other way. He ran back and forth a total of twelve times, the rock following him all the way. The boy then stopped and turned, pointing a finger at the square rock.

"That's the worst disguise of all time! There's no such thing a square rocks! It's completely obvious, Dattebayo!" Naruto claimed, pointing an accusing finger at the rock. It didn't occur to him that this was the exact chain of events that lead him and the others to meet the Suna-nin for the first time.

"You saw through my camouflage _again_! You're slick, boss." A small voice from inside the box squeaked. "Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival."

"Great. They never leave us alone." Sakura complained, seeing Naruto and the 'rock' not too far in front of her. Then the box began to light, just a, explosion would before the 'BOOM!' happened. To be specific, three booms happened, and all a different colour. One was pink, one was yellow and the other was blue. Once the smoke finally cleared, it revealed three kids in a crawling position, coughing loudly and trying to catch their breaths from the smoke.

"I think we used a little too much gun powder again, you guys." The Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru, stated as he and his friends carried on coughing. They all seemed to notice Naruto and Sakura still looking at them and the introductions rolled out…again.

"I'm Moegi! The sassiest kunoichi in preschool!" The girl stated, rolling into a blue back ground. "Check me out!" She said, striking a pose.

"I love algebra!" The glasses-wearing boy stated, going into the same background. "Call me Udon!" He also struck a pose, but a different one to Moegi.

"And I'm the number one ninja in the village!" The one we already know stated for no reason. "My name is…Konohamaru!" He finished, also striking a pose.

"And when we're all together…" The three said in union. "We're the Konohamaru ninja squad!" They stated as their goggles shined.

"Yeah, yeah! I knew it was you, Konohamaru." Naruto yawned, obviously unimpressed with the display. "What'd you want? I'm getting ready to take the second phase of the Chunin exam and you're interrupting me. I don't have any time to be playing around with you guys now."

"We didn't come to play around, boss! We're on official business!" The scarf-wearer of the trio announced, clenching his fist in determination.

"That's right." Moegi nodded. "We came here for an exclusive interview."

"Uh huh, uh huh." Udon nodded, agreeing with his team mates.

"An interview, huh?" Naruto asked, his interest caught.

"Yep. We're on an assignment to write an article for the academy's newspaper." Konohamaru stated stubbornly. "It's a big-time story all about the Chunin selection examinations."

"So that's why we want to do an exclusive interview with you." Moegi added with a smile. "Please tell us you're going to do it."

"It would mean a lot." Udon told him with a sniff from his allergies.

"Yeah, but right now?" Naruto groaned.

"Hey! You over there!" The instructor called out roughly. "What're you doing? You're holding up the exams." Anko stated as she walked over to the group.

"Uh, sorry." Naruto apologised. "But, you see, Konohamaru was telling me something about an interview for the academy newspaper." He told her as Anko gasped. She grinned and rubbed the back of her head in a very Naruto-like way.

"Oh yeah, I forgot all about it. Hokage-sama had mentioned something about them interviewing me."

"Interviewing you?" Naruto asked quietly with a sweat drop.

"Alright, we're taking a ten minute break!" Anko yelled out to the rest of the Genin present. "Those of you scheduled to be interviewed, please be courteous and respectful to the reporters from the academy newspaper."

"I thought _I_ was the only one being interviewed." Naruto whined.

"No boss, but you _are_ the most important." Konohamaru assured him.

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll give you an interview that'll make it clear to your reads why _I'm_ the greatest ninja _ever_." Naruto grinned as he gave the three younger kids a thumbs up.

[--

"Naruto, Sakura-nee-sama and Sasuke! The ninja of team seven!" The voice of Konohamaru stated. "Alright boss, tell us a little bit about yourself."

"Okay!" Naruto agreed. "Dattebayo! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, but I really, really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku ramen shop or the ramen I eat with Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. My hobbies are…umm, pranks I guess. Oh! And also eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them against others. And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole entire village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important. No other Genin can match any of my jutsu. Even Iruka-sensei can't help being impressed. And now that I'm I squad seven, I get to prove it by going on dangerous and life threatening missions everyday!"

—

"_What's the distance to the target?"__Kakashi asked the three Genin_

"_**Five metres."**__ Naruto replied through his communicator. __**"I'm ready to go. Just give me the signal."**_

"_**I'm ready too." **__Sasuke confirmed._

"_This is pointless." Sakura sighed to herself. __**"Pff, I'm ready."**_

"_Okay…" Kakashi began. "GO!" He yelled._

_The two boys on the team leapt from their hiding spots to jump the shadowed creature before it could get away. Naruto was the first to get to it as he grabbed the target roughly around its middle, causing the creature to mew pitifully. Yes…mew._

"_I got him! I got him!" He yelled in triumph as he held onto the…kitten. "I got you!" The blonde taunted. It began to hiss and scratch his body, mostly his face, without remorse._

"_**Can you verify a red ribbon on his right ear?" **__Kakashi questioned._

"_Affirmative. We've got a positive ID." Sasuke answered._

"_**So it's our target, 'Tora'?"**__ Kakashi asked though the intercom device._

"_It's the target for sure." Sasuke replied, ignoring Naruto as the cat began to stamp on his head._

—

"The other Genin in squad Sasuke and Sakura-chan, but since I'm really the only one that really chose a ninja promise, you don't need to hear about them." Naruto claimed boastingly.

"Well, do it anyway. You know, for the article." Konohamaru prompted.

"Okay, okay!" Naruto caved. "Well…let's see…Uchiha Sasuke is a real pretentious guy. All of the girls like him—except Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan—but they don't realise how big a jerk he is. Anyway; he's always swooping in at the last minute and making me look bad. But one day, I'll show him. I'll kick his teme ass all the way to the Land of Waves!"

"Alright! Anything else?" Konohamaru asked.

"Yeah! There's also Haruno Sakura." Naruto continued. "I'll let you in on a little secret…she's _madly_ in love with me! She'd never admit it, of course, but I think the way she hides her feelings of love makes her even cuter!"

"Uhh, how about something else about Sakura-nee-sama, boss." The boy sweat dropped. Naruto nodded and hummed his thoughts.

"Well, she was brought up in Yukigakure at first, but she left there was got to Konoha when she was ten. I know that she had a brother named Judy and team mates named Tsuki and Tilley…I think." He stated, rubbing his head. "Even thought she wears baggy clothes and stuff, I've seen her in tight clothes on a mission once. She's _really_ hot!"

"Now way! So unfair!" Konohamaru whined.

"Anyway, putting that aside. Our team is more like a well oiled machine that can succeed in any mission, no matter how dangerous. Of course, I wasn't always busy on dangerous missions. I still had time to teach the Hokage a thing or two."

"_Sexy no jutsu!" Naruto yelled as the Hokage looked up from the photo Naruto had taken earlier that day with the 'daffodil maidens'. He promptly fell back, bleeding heavily from the nose._

"I don't think that this stuff is appropriate for the article."

"Then, what should I say?"

"How about when you first met me?" The boy chirped.

—

_The boy by the door took out a shuriken and held it up for attack. Naruto, Sakura and the Hokage all look towards the door, the Hokage's assistant and Hinata doing so seconds later. The door opened quickly, revealing a small boy with his weapon poised for attack._

"_Old man! I challenge you! I'm going to defeat you and become the fifth Hokage!" A young child, no older than eight years old, yelled as he ran into the room. He had a tooth missing in the front of his mouth and a tan cap over his head, leaving a hole for his brown hair to poke out of at the back near the top. He also wore a yellow t-shirt with the Konoha symbol on it in red and a pair of tan, knee-length shorts with his ninja sandals and a long blue scarf._

_He charged at the Hokage, and the newly instated Genin watched as he ran a few feet before tripping over his own scarf. Naruto sighed as Sakura's eyes, amazingly, softened when the child started weeping on the floor softly. Hinata only just managed to stop herself form going to the child's aid, but she noticed Sakura's eyes and smiled._

"_Alright, you're the one who tripped me, aren't you?!" The little kid accused, pointing at Naruto, who growled in response. The blonde grabbed the kids scarf and held him up in the air, a fist ready to hit him._

"_You tripped over your own feet, dork." Naruto told him. "And why did you automatically blame me? It could have been her!" He said, pointing to Hinata. "Well, maybe not her…but she could have done it!" This time he moved his finger in Sakura's direction._

"_Excuse me?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow twitching._

"_Don't blame a pretty girl for what you did!" The kid yelled. Sakura smirked._

"_I think I like this kid." She admitted._

"_What's the matter, huh? I thought you were gonna hit me!" The kid asked in a spoilt and confident voice._

"_I don't care if he's your grandmother! So believe it!" Naruto yelled as he hit the kid over the head in the same way Sakura hits him._

—

"Don't forget Iruka-sensei! He was the only one who was nice to me before Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan, and I still drove him crazy!" Naruto stated almost proudly.

"The whole article can't be about you, boss!" Konohamaru stated as Naruto looked back to the three little kids, who were sitting in front of him with their notebooks out. A pink one for Moegi, a blue one for Udon and a green one for Konohamaru.

"Well, I could tell you a story about the time Sasuke screwed up." Naruto offered.

"We've already heard that story, boss!" Konohamaru complained. "Can't you talk about anyone but you?"

Standing not too far away were Sakura and Sasuke. Both were too far to hear what he was saying to the kids, but each had pretty much the same idea for his words.

"I'm sure Naruto's just talking about himself over there. He probably never even mentions us." Sakura sighed, rubbing her temples as she looked around again for her old Yuki friends.

"Hn. That would be just like him." Sasuke agreed.

[--

"Tell us about you, Sakura-nee-sama. You're a kunoichi I really look up to and respect." Moegi smiled. The three pre-ninja had agreed that Udon would ask Sasuke question, Konohamaru would ask Naruto and Moegi would get to ask Sakura.

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like Hinata-chan and Naruto, as well as training and hanging out with them. What I dislike, is people picking on weaker people and thinking that appearances can show what level ninja you are. My hobby is getting ramen with Naruto and hanging out with him and Hinata-chan, and also going shopping with Hinata-chan and training with Naruto after our squad training. I don't really have a dream…but I think Naruto's attitude is rubbing off on my enough to give me a half-dream. It's to be recognised as more than just a killer or a ninja. To have someone who loves me and I love back." Sakura finished with a shrug.

"What about team seven? What'd think of them?" Moegi asked her as Udon and Konohamaru took notes.

"Well, there's Uchiha Sasuke. He's like me, in a way. He doesn't talk much, he's arrogant and all he can think about it out-classing Naruto in everything. To be honest, I can hardly stand him sometimes. The fact that we're a team is the only reason he hasn't lost his head yet. All he can say is how much better he is. And I've seen him use fire jutsus. He adds these weird over the head arm movements, but I've also seen other people use that same jutsu. He's just showing off. It's unnecessary. He also talks way too much in his fights. Who in their right mind would tell their opponent everything they're going to do, before they do it? Sasuke does, that's for sure."

"Haha! Sakura-chan can only say bad stuff about you, teme!" Naruto, who was sitting with Sakura for her interview, bragged to the dark Uchiha, who was brooding on her other side.

"What about Naruto?" Moegi asked, causing Naruto's mouth to close and his ears to open wide.

"Well, first I'll tell you about our sensei. His name is Hatake Kakashi and he has no clue how to introduce himself. Well, he's also known as the copy ninja Kakashi or Sharingan no Kakashi. I'm not gonna tell you more about his technique, but I _will_ tell you that the Sharingan is an amazing kekkei genkai to see in action. Sasuke has it, but not to Kakashi-sensei's level. It's not as good."

"Now tell us about Naruto." Moegi nodded with a smile.

"He's weird and has the stupidest techniques. Like his Hāremu no Jutsu, then his Kage Bunshin no jutsu, and finally he's got his ever _useful_ Oiroke no Jutsu. Then you have those times where Naruto is just being Naruto, and that's not usually good." She sighed.

"Anything else?" Moegi enquired.

"I'll say more if the baka and takes Sasuke and leaves." Sakura said firmly, crossing her arms. Konohamaru shooed the two and nodded.

"Go on." Moegi smiled again.

"Naruto's a good friend. He can be really annoying, but I just can't hate him _or_ his over-happy attitude. He's made me smile, laugh and show more emotions in one week of knowing him than I thought possible for me to show in my _life_. In time, he'll probably have me acting like a normal person in the emotion department, and I'm thankful for that." Sakura smirked.

"Wow…" The three whispered.

[--

"Boy, Sasuke, you're the coolest! When I look at you, I feel like I'm looking at my future self." Udon said happily as Sasuke sat, leaning on the tree this time with Sakura on his left and Naruto on his right. "Do you mind if I get a few quote from you too, for our article?"

"Well…I guess I should set the record straight from my side." Sasuke shrugged. "If you listen to Naruto, you'd end up getting more fairytale than truth."

"Oh no you don't, Sasuke. They came here to interview me and Sakura-chan, not you!" Naruto stated loudly.

"They came here to interview _everyone_, loser. There _are_ other ninja here you know. _Believe it_." He mocked with a scowl.

"Argh!" Naruto growled.

"Mmmmm." Sasuke growled back.

"The article is about _me_!" Naruto boasted.

"Nobody _cares_ about you, Naruto. All you do is goof off and get into trouble. That's why you'll never be a _real_ ninja." Sasuke told him.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto glowered.

"Yeah. Don't you remember _anything_?" The Uchiha asked angrily.

—

"_Hey!" Sasuke called. "You! Identify yourself!" He ordered. The girl stopped and turned around, pointing to herself with a smile._

"_The guy with the gourd on his back." Sakura clarified, although she knew their names from when she checked their passports. Kankuro stopped and turned and then Gaara did the same._

"_I am Gaara. Sabaku no Gaara." He stated proudly. "I'm curious about you and your friend with the pink hair too. Who are you?" The desert-nin asked._

"_I am Uchiha Sasuke." He replied with a smirk._

"_Haruno Sakura." The pinkette followed._

—

"_Hey you. Over here." A boy called to Sasuke and Sakura. They turned to see the white-eyed team mate of Lee._

"_Can we help you?" Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips._

"_What're your names?" He asked. Sasuke looked at Sakura and she swept a hand in the brunette's direction, gesturing for Sasuke to go ahead._

'_**Again?! It's always about Sasuke!'**__ Naruto yelled mentally._

"_It's common curtsey to give your own name before asking someone else's." Sasuke told him, as if lecturing him on manners._

—

"_Hey you! The boy with the attitude!" A well-spoken voice called out from the balcony above them. "Hold on!" He called again, causing team seven to pull to a halt and turn around, looking for the one who spoke. Surprise, surprise! It was Lee._

"_What do you want?" Sasuke grunted. It was pretty obvious that Lee was talking to him because Sakura isn't a boy and Naruto's attitude is a lot less noticeable than his own._

"_I want to fight you. Right here and right now." Lee stated, not blinking or planning to take back his challenge._

"_Hold it!" Naruto yelled out to the others in the room, not liking the current circumstances one little bit._

"_What is it?" Lee asked impatiently. Naruto glared at the green-boy, not letting his eyes leave him in all his bushy-eyebrow glory. The blonde, trying to look 'cool', pursed his lips._

"_I get him first, teme. This weirdo is mine." Naruto said to Sasuke, not looking at the cockatoo-haired boy as he said it._

"_No, thank you." Lee said to him. "Right now, the only one I want to fight is Uchiha." He claimed._

"_Yeah? Well, I've got news for you, fuzzy-brows." He thought over what Sakura said and decided to meet her half-way. Naruto, despite what she had said, ran at the green-boy. "Sasuke can't compare to me, Dattebayo!"_

_With his usual battle-cry, Naruto leapt up to punch Lee right in the cheek, but the latter didn't move out of his stance. Pulling back his fist, Naruto growled._

_Lee found a flaw in his punch. The green-nin moved his hand and poked Naruto's wrist, sending the boy down. But Naruto wasn't the type to give up. He put both hands on the ground and aimed a slow kick at Lee, only to have him dodge and sink to the floor._

"_Konoha Reppu!" He yelled, kicking Naruto's arms and sending the boy across the floor, spinning like a kicked tortoise on his back. Naruto hit the wall a few metres from Lee and wished he didn't do as Sakura asked. He sunk to the floor, dizzy._

—

"Everyone taking the Chunin exams are all highly skilled and every one of them is considered the best Genin in the lands…_except_ for Naruto." The Uchiha carried on.

"Hey!" Naruto cried indignantly.

"Nara Shikamaru. Akimichi Choji. Yamanaka Ino. Hyuuga Hinata. Inuzuka Kiba with Akamaru. Aburame Shino. Each one of them is talented in their own way, but I'm still better than all of them combined." Sasuke boasted.

"Yeah right." Naruto scoffed. "That's why you got your butt kicked by Rock Lee. Because you're better than him? You shouldn't be talking; even you've screwed up from time to time."

"I'm gonna screw up your face if you don't watch it, Naruto." Sasuke threatened.

"Go for it! Let's settle this! Once and for all!" Naruto yelled.

"Come on guys! Cool it! You're giving me a headache." Sakura complained with a frown. "We've passed the first stage of the Chunin exam and we're about to enter the Forest of Death for the second phase. We need to calm down and get along the best we can. To pass these exams, we have to work together."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sasuke agreed grudgingly.

"Sakura-chan is _always_ right! Dattebayo!"

"Ah! Naruto, quit hugging me!"

"Sakura-chan! Your face is red!"

"GET OFF!"

"Get away from her, dobe!"

"Don't call him a dobe, Sasuke!"

[--

"We want to thank all of you for a great interview." Moegi said gratefully as she rose from her bow.

"Yeah, thanks." Udon stated, rising from his own bow.

"Knock 'em dead in the Chunin exams boss, nee-sama!" Konohamaru added as he too rose from bowing in gratitude.

"No worries, guy! We'll make it!" Naruto assured.

"We're the best of the best." Sakura smirked.

"Bye!"

"See ya later!"

"Good luck!"

The three academy students walked off, clutching their notebooks and waving to the team seven Genin.

The Chunin Exam Stage Two: The Forest of Death!

Giant bugs crawled quickly along branches, up trees and across the forest floor as birds of all shapes and colours flew around. One grey bird landed on a branch, but it was soon devoured by a giant snake. The snake ate it in one bite and continued on its way around the tree before slithering into the shadows to await more prey.

"Man, it's too hot today." Sakura panted as she fanned herself. Two years of living in Fire country had helped her get used to a bit of extra heat, but she still had a limit. Sakura unzipped her jumper, took it off and tied it around her waist, showing off her red tank top with her Haruno circle on the back and a black fishnet, short-sleeved top over it. She then used her ribbon to tie her hair into a low ponytail, but didn't bother moving her bangs away from her face.

"Th-This p-place c-creeps me o-out." Hinata stuttered as she looked at her friend while pulling on the hem of her own jacket. The Hyuuga girl didn't remove it like her friend did, simply because this heat was almost nothing to people who had been born and raised in Fire country. Anko heard her and smirked.

"Hm. It should. They call it the Forest of Death. And soon enough, you're all gonna find out why." Anko told her, causing Hinata to shiver in fear. Sakura sighed and put a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder, squeezing it slightly to reassure her. Naruto pursed his lips, stuck out his butt and danced around.

"_They call it the Forest of Death. And soon enough, you're all gonna find out why_." He imitated before going back to normal. "Hm. You're not gonna scare _me_ away. I can handle _anything_! Dattebayo!"

"So…looks like we've got ourselves a tough guy." Anko mused, speaking so everyone could hear her.

She moved her arm and a kunai came out of her sleeve. Anko threw it and it passed Naruto, as well as a ninja from Grass, before it struck the ground. Blood ran in a small amount from the new cut on Naruto's cheek as he stood in shock. In a blast of speed, she ran and stopped behind Naruto. Before the blonde could even register what was going on, she was speaking again.

"Are you tough enough to handle this?" Anko questioned in a serious tone from behind him. "You're not afraid, are you?" She asked, taking hold of his uninjured cheek and looked at his cut. "Guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." She mused. As she picked up a drop of blood on her finger, something caught her attention and she twisted around with a kunai out. Over her shoulder was a woman from Grass, holding out the other kunai with her long tongue.

"I was…just returning your kunai." The woman explained slowly.

"Why thank you, good Grass ninja." Anko said with a smile. "You know, I really only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." The woman added, taking her kunai from the Grass-nin, still holding a smile on her face. The tongue slid back into the ninja's mouth and Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"My pardon." The Grass-nin said. "With the sight of blood and the blade slicing through my hair, I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm."

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered as she looked upon the scene in concern for her male friend. She looked back at Sakura and noticed the girl tensing up and trying to control herself. If she did what her Inner voice and emotions wanted her to do, a lot of people would be injured; mainly the Grass-nin and Anko.

"Likewise." Anko chuckled as she Grass-nin backed off and walked back to her team.

'_I know that ninja…but from where?'_ Sakura thought to herself as she saw the Grass-nin coming closer. She moved aside to let her pass, but the ninja paused and looked at her with a creepy smile.

"My, my…what a cute little kunoichi. I bet a lot of people underestimate your skill due to your appearance. Where I'm from, that never happens to anyone. Those who underestimate their opponent are killed." The ninja mused, taking a lock of hair from the bangs that hung in front of Sakura's face. Sakura moved her head slightly and pulled her hair back from the ninja's grasp, but the woman just grinned and walked away.

'_Woah.'_ Naruto thought to himself, looking passed Anko to the retreating Grass-nin. _'I wonder if I could do that with __**my**__ tongue.'_ He added, keeping a hand over his cut and sticking out his tongue as far as it would go. Anko smirked at the Grass-nin.

"Seems like everyone here today is quick tempered." She stated when she saw Sakura glare at the grinning Grass-nin before the latter walked back to her team. "Must be something in the air. This is gonna be fun."

'_Quick temper?'_ Naruto asked himself, looking up at Anko with a frown and his hand still over his wound. _'Sheesh! __**You're**__ the one who threw the kunai at me.'_ He glared as Anko walked away from him. Sakura walked over to Naruto and bent down to look at his cut.

"You're fine. It's not even worth healing." Sakura told him with a fond smirk on her face as he grinned.

"Before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all." The proctor stated, taking papers out from inside her jacket. "It's just a standard consent form." She assured. "Before the test, all of you are going to have to read over this form, and then sign it."

"What for?" The ever curious Naruto asked her.

"Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk. Other wise it would be _my_ responsibility." Anko laughed although no one else found this funny in the slightest. "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here, pass these out." She ordered Naruto.

"M'kay." He replied, taking the forms and sighing at the amount. Sakura shook her head and walked up to him.

"Here, I'll give you a hand. Oi, Sasuke! Help us hand these out!" Sakura ordered. The brooding Uchiha rolled his eyes and took a few of the forms from Naruto as team seven began handing out the pieces of paper together. Anko grinned.

"That's a good show of team work, even thought it's a simple task. Well done." She congratulated. Naruto grinned, Sakura rolled her eyes and Sasuke grunted as they continued with their task. "Now, this test will be testing ever one of your survival skills."

'_Survival…how troublesome.'_ Shikamaru sighed mentally.

"Here you go." Sakura said with a smirk, handing him a form. "I just hope that writing your name on the line isn't too _troublesome_ for you." She mused, walking on. Shikamaru smiled a little and read the form.

"First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain of the practice field." She told them, unrolling a scroll that showed a map. "The forty-fourth practice grounds has forty-four locked entrances. There are rivers, and a forest inside. In the centre is a locked tower, located ten kilometres from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test."

'_Oh boy…this doesn't sound as easy as I thought it would be.'_ Ino fretted as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Ino, take a form." Sakura said, holding out one paper for her. Ino looked up from her panic, ready for any verbal battle with the girl or at least a dirty look from the jutsu she used on her, but was only met with a soft face.

"Umm…th-thanks." Ino said, taking the form.

"Don't worry. You have the skills to pass. As much as I hate to admit it, you _are_ one of the top kunoichi of our graduating class. They _want_ you to panic and make mistakes. Don't let them get to you." Sakura warned. Ino looked shocked. "And…good luck, Pig-face." She smirked before she moved on to the next group of Genin and passed out the papers to them.

"The test consist of," Anko paused, rolling up the scroll and putting it back in her coat. "Anything goes battle. The goal is…to get your hands on these scrolls." She told them. Anko was holding up one black scroll and one white scroll with the words 'heaven' and 'earth' on them respectively.

"Both of them?" Sakura asked her with a frown. _'Man, these exams are __**way**__ different compared to the ones in Yukigakure.'_

"Yes." Anko replied, placing the scrolls in each hand. "You'll be fighting to get both. A Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. All together, twenty six teams will be taking part in this test. So, half of those teams will be going after the Heaven scroll, and the other half will be trying to get the Earth scroll. I'll hand over one type of scroll to each team and _that's_ what you'll be fighting for."

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" The Uchiha boy enquired.

"The entire squad must bring both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll to the tower." Anko told him, thus telling everyone else.

"So only half of us will pass, and that's at the very best." Sakura smirked, liking this test already.

"No one ever said it would be _easy_." Anko scoffed. "Oh, and one more thing; this test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days." She said calmly, placing the scrolls back into her coat.

"Five days out there?!" Ino cried out in a panic.

"What're we supposed to do for food?!" Choji asked in the same way.

"Just look around. The forest is _full_ of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you." Anko told him. Kabuto sighed.

"Yeah, but that's not all the forest has plenty of." He smiled despite himself. "There're plenty of man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there."

"Oh _man_." Choji groaned.

"Quiet down. That _is_ why they call it survival, you know." Ino scolded the Akimichi boy.

"That means, with these circumstances, not even half the teams will get a chance to pass the test." Neji realised.

"It is summer. With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter, so we have less time to sleep and less time to recover." Lee realised. Sakura scoffed.

"Man-eating beasts and plants are the major population in there and you're thinking about _sleeping_?" She asked. "No offence, Lee-san, but you have more chance of surviving if you stay awake. It also gives you more opportunities to get a scroll."

"Ah! You are correct, youthful Sakura-san!" Lee gushed, causing Sakura to take a few steps away from him and hide slightly behind Naruto.

"Sakura's right. Will all those threats, there wont _be_ any time to rest, so we have to work in shifts." Sasuke nodded.

"Right. This also tests your abilities to cope behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a gruelling test, and I'm sure that some of you won't be up to the challenge." Anko told them. Shikamaru raised his hand and she looked at him.

"So, um, let's talk about this exam…can we quit?" The Nara boy asked her seriously. Anko frowned at him.

"Of course not." She reprimanded. "In the middle of a battle, you can't say 'sorry, I quit'…well, I guess you could, but it's probably gonna get you killed." The woman laughed.

"Oh, that's just great." Shikamaru said with his arms crossed. "This is gonna be a drag."

"There're also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple enough. If a full team can't get to the tower with both scrolls within five days. Number two; if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and can't continue. But, most important, none of you, and I mean absolutely none of you, may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower."

"What if it just happens to flop open and you read it?" Naruto asked in all seriousness. Anko laughed. 

"Let me put it to you this way, young man; you…don't…want…to…know, get it?" She explained slowly.

"Argh." Naruto complained.

"There are times on a mission when a ninja will be asked to carry a secret document. The soul rule is to test your integrity." She told them. "Okay, we're done. Each team take your consent forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls." She said, pointing to a desk where three uniformed men were sitting. "After that, each team pick a gate, you you'll be let inside." She sighed. "Oh, and I have one more word of advice. Just don't die!"

Sasuke sighed and walked over to a rock before sitting down, leaning on it and looking around. He saw that the uniformed men were pulling a red curtain around the desk so that no one could see. His left hand, the one holding his form, clenched slightly as he figured everything out.

'_I see how it is. We wont see which team has what scroll, so we won't know which of the team members is carrying the scroll and we won't know who to go after.'_ Sasuke noted to himself._ 'Stealing information is really a matter of life or death…it's just like Ibiki said. Everyone is equally determined to pass, and all of them are my enemies.'_

"Hey you! The one with the chicken-butt on his head." A deep voice called to him. Sasuke turned and stood up when he saw foreign ninja not too far from him.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

[--

Meanwhile, a little ways off from Sasuke-chan, Sakura was walking along while reading over her form. She frowned and looked up, checking to area for the Yuki-nin, but had no such luck. Sighing, Sakura looked back at her form.

"Well, well, well." A girl's voice from in front of her called. Sakura looked up and saw Ino with her team.

"Hey, Ino-pig." Sakura greeted politely. Ino nodded back with a smirk and Shikamaru and Choji were confused, to say the least.

"Hey, Ino, what's going on?" Shikamaru asked. Ino smiled at Sakura slightly before rolling her eyes and looking at her pineapple-haired team mate.

"Shikamaru, it's nothing. Sakura-san just offered me some useful advice, and it's really help. Thanks, Sakura-san." Ino bowed.

"No problem. But, don't think we're gonna get along from now on, Boar-face." She mocked.

"Grrrr! I'll have you know that I'm considered to be very sexy!" Ino defended herself.

"Yes, but people who are _very_ desperate." Sakura smirked back. "You'd be sexier if you had just come out of a blender."

"Sticks and stone may break my bones, but silly words can't hurt me, forehead girl." The blonde snorted.

"Sticks and stones will break your bones? Well, sticks and stones it is then." Sakura retorted, throwing a stone at her head.

"Stop it, Poindexter!"

"Make me, Sasquatch!"

"Maybe I will, Pink-stink."

"You know why people think you're bright before you talk? Because light travels faster than sound, blondie."

"Are you calling me dumb, billboard brow!?"

"Yes!"

"Here's 104¥ (about 40p in Britain), go call all your friends and bring back the change."

"Have you considered suing your brains for non-support?"

"Hi! I'm a human being! What're you?"

"Any similarities between _you_ and a human are purely coincidental."

"I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up me ass!"

"Everyone has a right to be ugly, but you're abusing that privilege, Ino-pig."

"If we were to kill everybody who hates you, it wouldn't be murder; it would be genocide!"

"I'd like to leave you with one thought...but I'm not sure you have anywhere to put it!"

The girls glared electricity into each others eyes before huffing and walking in separate direction. Shikamaru and Choji just stood, still and scared, as the girls fought and left.

"Man, I am so glad they didn't turn on us." Shikamaru sighed in relief.

"Why do they hate each other so much?" Choji, who got so scared that he actually _dropped his chips_, asked his friend.

"Feh, who cares?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically. "Like I have time to worry about that stuff."

[--

Naruto was walking along, reading over his form alone. As he walked further from the others, a different form can into view, but this one was that of a human. His good friend Hinata was leaning against a tree, looking over her form with her clear lavender eyes.

"Hey, Hinata-chan! What're you doing all the way out here?" Naruto asked her as he came closer. Hinata looked up and smiled with a small blush painted across her face.

"Na-Naruto-k-kun! I was j-just…u-um…n-nothing." She stuttered, looking around. "Wh-Where is Sa-Sakura-chan?"

"She wanted to be left alone to read over her form, but then she found Ino and the two going into another fight. I left when Sakura-chan started throwing sticks and stones at Ino." Naruto shrugged. "Where's dog-breath and bug-boy?"

"O-Oh…Sh-Shino-kun is a-also l-looking over his f-form alone and K-Kiba-kun is pro-probably s-somewhere near Sa-Sakura-chan." Hinata replied with a smile.

"Man, I wish Sakura-chan would just tell Kiba-teme to get lost. I hate it when he's near her and she just acts like its nothing." The blonde boy pouted. Hinata nodded in half-agreement.

"Oh! Y-Your cut…I…I h-have th-this…" She trailed off, holding up a pot of healing cream, but Naruto wasn't really paying attention.

"Well, anyway, see you later." He bid, waving as he walked off. Hinata watched him go with a small frown.

'_Our friendship was fine before you came along, Naruto.'_ She thought to herself. _'Now she spends more time with you than anyone else.'_ The girl frowned, but looked back to her form after putting the cream back into her pocket.

"Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked when he saw his rival surrounded by Yuki-nin. _'No way…it can't be them…can it?'_ He rushed over to were they were standing, joining Sasuke's side against the strangers.

[--

"So, blondie is here too, huh?" The boy with the red shirt on smirked at Naruto and Sasuke. He tilted his hat up and they saw snowy white bangs and forest green eyes. The other two also tilted their hats to reveal harlequin green hair and maroon eyes.

"Who are you guys?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed voice.

"Onii-san?" A female voice from behind then whisper. The one with white hair turned.

"Sakura-chan!" He gasped. Naruto and Sasuke-snapped their heads towards the girl and, sure enough, they saw her pink hair, green eyes and the jumper tied around her waist. The boy she called 'onii-san' ran and hugged her tightly, and Sakura returned the hug.

"You know this guy?" Sasuke asked her. Sakura nodded.

"By what she called you, I'm guessing that you're Juhi." Naruto stated with a frown. "Her older brother, right?"

"How do you know that, Naruto?" Sasuke glared. Naruto just shrugged.

"She told me, sort of." The blonde replied.

"You gonna run off again, Sakura-chan?" One of the twins asked her with a sad smile.

"No way, Taiyoo. I was just shocked yesterday, that's all. I mean, it's been four years, and I thought that you'd forgotten about me." She confessed with a small smile. Naruto and Sasuke could only gape, for neither had seen her truly smile before.

"Forget you?" The other twin asked in shock. "How can I forget you when I have so many of the scars you gave me still in tact? In fact, I think I still have that bruise you gave me when I said that your aim was suckish."

"Tsuki!" Sakura whined. Naruto winced.

'_So…this is the guy I'm always compared to, huh?'_ He wondered bitterly to himself. _'And that means that the other one is the one Sasuke's always compared to.'_

"Sasuke, Naruto, this is Hoshi Tsuki, Hoshi Taiyoo and Haruno Juhi. Juhi-nii-san, Tsuki and Taiyoo, this is Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. No more trying to kill each other." Sakura ordered. Tsuki rolled his eyes and looked at his twin, seeing the latter nod.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?" Tsuki called.

"Hm?" She replied. Tsuki grinned widely, as did Taiyoo, as they both put their mouths close to her ears.

"You've gotten really, _really_ hot." They whispered to her at the same time, making Sakura turn red.

"Guys! You haven't changed one bit!" She complained. "Quit picking on me!"

They chatted more and caught up with each other for another ten minutes, with Naruto and Sasuke popping a question every now and then and Taiyoo, Tsuki and Juhi snapping rude comments and insults at the two they thought of a replacements. Sakura, of course, told them off every time they did so and informed them that Naruto and Sasuke were friends and team mates, not replacements. However, their chatter stopped when the red curtain was pulled back slightly and a man looked out to all the Genin.

"We will now be handing out scrolls." He stated, going back behind the curtain. All of the Genin got moving to collect their scroll as fast as they could and get back to their team to pick a gate.

"We'll see you after the test, Sakura-chan." The twins told her together.

"Not if I get your scroll, you wont." Sakura teased. The Yuki-nin laughed and walked towards the curtain, coming back out five minutes later and going to find a gate.

'_I wonder if any of them will survive this…'_ Anko thought with a grin.

Team seven walked behind the curtain and Naruto handed the men their consent forms with a large smile. Sakura, who was standing on his left, rested her elbow on his shoulder while Sasuke just brooded. The man looked at the forms and nodded handing Naruto a Heaven scroll.

'_Heh, we are so gonna win this.'_ The blonde cheered mentally, trying not to think about the Yuki-nin, or at least to only hope for the exams to end fast so that they would leave.

Anko looked at her watch as two o'clock rolled around. When it did, she smiled her big grin and raised her head to see all of the Genin, but no scrolls. They were all hidden somewhere on one of the team members, so that no one else would see it.

"Okay, you maggots, listens up. All of the teams have received their scrolls so go to your gates and wait there. When the gates open, the test is on!" She cheered.

[--

Team Eight—consisting of the bug-nin, Aburame Shino, the dog-nin, Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru, and the shy-nin, Hyuuga Hinata—stood at Gate 16. There was one guard with them and they each had different ideas of how this phase of the test would end.

"Yahoo! We rock at survival! There's no _way_ we can lose!" Kiba cheered as he petted Akamaru. "Hinata, you better be strong for this." He warned good heartedly as Hinata looked up.

"R-Right." She muttered, looking back down at the ground. _'Sakura-chan wouldn't have said that. She believes in my skills. So, why don't my own team?'_

[--

Team Ten—made up of Nara Shikamaru, the shadow-nin, Akimichi Choji, the food-nin, and Yamanaka Ino, the…other-nin—stood at Gate 27. They also had one guard in front of them, but none of them were as pumped for the test as Kiba. In fact, Shikamaru didn't stop complaining.

"This test may cost us our lives. What a drag." He sighed. "But, since we have to do it, let's just go after Naruto first." The lazy boy smirked as Choji went through his pouches, checking he had all his food.

"Chips; check. Chocolate cake; check. Yum-yum bar; check. Oooh, that's tasty!" He drooled as Ino just looked at him with a raised brow.

[--

Finally, at Gate 12, stood Team Seven. The loud, the brooder and the mysterious. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. Yet another guard stood with them and Naruto was cheering for the team's success, even thought the outcome of the test was unknown.

"Yeah! Dattebayo!" The blonde yelled. "You bring it on, enemy ninja dude person! I'll just send it back twice as hard!" He claimed, punching the air and putting on his pouty 'fighting face'.

'_**CHA! That's right!'**_ Inner agreed as Sakura swung her arm around Naruto's shoulder, humming her own agreement. Sasuke did nothing but glare at the red-faced Naruto and then give the patented 'Uchiha glare' to the Forest of Death.

[--

At gate 20, the sound nin—Dosu, butt-grabber and long-hair—stood in confidence.

"Hm. The time has come to carry out our orders." Dosu mused.

[--

Gate 38 was the entry way to Kabuto and his team.

[--

Gate 6 stationed Temari, Kankuro and Gaara.

'_Not only do I have to deal with the punks on the other teams, but I'll also be with Gaara, and he might try to __**kill**__ me.'_ Kankuro worried.

[--

At gate 15, the woman from Grass was waiting with her own team.

"We should target the rookies first. They're easy prey!" One of her team mates stated in a strangled voice.

"We'll get the scroll from them in no time. Anything goes, right?" She added humorously.

[--

Number 41 was where you would find Lee, Neji and Tenten, waiting in complete boredom for the gates to open.

'_Gai-sensei! I will make you proud!'_ Lee thought confidently with fire burning in his eyes. _'Just watch! Soon, everyone will know the name Rock Lee and Sakura-san will be in love with me!'_

[--

The guard at Gate 12 with Team Seven unlocked the padlock holding the gate closed and looked at his watch. It was just a few seconds until three o'clock, when the test would formally begin.

[--

"Alright, heads up, you lousy maggots! The second part of the test has begun!" Anko stated.

[--

Gates all over the training ground swung open and the ninja waiting on the other side leapt into the trees or ran across the ground.

"You know who we're looking for." The woman from Grass stated.

"Yeah, those three brats." Her team mate grinned.

"Blondie, Brooder and Pinkie!"

[--

"Alright! Here we go, guy!" Naruto cheered.

[--

Temari, Kankuro and Gaara jumped through the trees, keeping their eyes and senses peeled for any enemy ninja.

[--

Shikamaru, Choji and Ino jumped in a line through the trees. The Nara boy went first, landing on a branch and pushing himself off, then the Akimichi, who did the same, and finally Ino.

[--

Kiba, Shino and Hinata landed on the forest floor in a circle. The Inuzuka had Akamaru perched on his head and he was the first to speak.

"Okay, the first thing we need to do is to find the scroll we need." He stated. "Are you ready, Hinata?" He asked. Hinata nodded and placed her hands in the seal for Bird.

"Byakugan." She called as veins of chakra surrounded her eyes, as well as a few appearing around her non-existent pupil.

[--

Lee, Tenten and Neji jumped over branches and through leave, with Lee in the lead, then Neji just behind him and Tenten bringing up the rear.

"Take it easy, Lee. The test has only just begun." Neji warned his over-enthusiastic team mate.

"That may be, but still…" Lee stated, getting Neji's attention. "Whoever our enemies are, I want to find them before they find us." He claimed, moving even faster than before.

[--

"We have one main target. Stay focused on him." Dosu told his team as they jumped onwards. "If we can get to the other one, that's fine, but _he_ is the one we must find first. The other one is said to be mostly corrupt by someone else's teachings, anyway and is only a last resort."

"Right." Zaku and the girl nodded.

[--

Shikamaru and Ino looked out from behind the trees they were hiding near and, after checking that the coast was clear, they stepped into full view.

"Ugh! Are you kidding? What're you doing?" Ino asked her big-boned team mate as he sat at the foot of a tree, opening a bag of chips.

"Just having a snack." He stated, taking a handful of chips. "I mean, I've gotta keep my strength up, don't I?" He asked innocently before shoving the chips into his mouth one at a time and at great speed.

"We haven't even been out here for five minutes." Ino complained.

"Yeah, come on, Choji." Shikamaru prompted. "We have a job to do."

"I can't help it. I gotta eat." He told them, turning around on his butt so he was facing away from his thin team. "This is my favourite flavour."

"You and your snacks." Ino whined. "This is a survival test, you know, Choji. You should have packed more kunai and less candy."

"Guys, quick, hide." Shikamaru ordered when he heard a noise. Team Ten quickly jumped into the bushes, away from view. Three Rain ninja landed in the clearing and looked around. _'Oh no.'_ Shikamaru thought, spying stray chips on the ground from Choji's bag. One of the ninja made a signal to the others and they jumped away.

"Phew." Ino sighed in relief, getting off of the ground.

'_Oh man. I've got to deal with five more days of this?'_ Shikamaru groaned mentally. _'How troublesome.'_

[--

Three ninja from Cloud landed on a branch, not too far away from Team Eight, who were talking very loudly. They listened to the words.

"Okay, so we have to get the other scroll and head to the tower in the end." Kiba stated loudly with a smirk. "I say we lay a trap near here and just take the scroll off whoever we catch." He said as Akamaru sniffed slightly and whined. "Well, well, we've got company."

"Hm?" Hinata voiced as she and Shino looked up a Kiba.

"Heh, bunch of fools. Just standing out in the open like they actually _wanna_ get caught." One of the Cloud shinobi mused.

"Well, it seems they felt out presence, but they're such lame ninja that they can't even pinpoint our location." His team mate stated in an amused tone.

"Hey, what's in your shirt?" The third asked when he saw the shirt of the first begin to move. The collar fell down to show a large, maroon coloured slug-like bug with two dark crimson stripes on it's back, going from it's head to it's tail.

"Ugh, what _is_ that thing?" The second asked in disgust. A rain of more of them fell from the canopy and hit the Cloud ninja, who cried out in pain as the giant leaches—for that is what they turned out to be—sucked their blood through their skin.

"Well, it seems that the leeches found them." Kiba mused. "You gotta love how they seek body temperature and once they've found it they swoop down from above to capture their prey. Then, within five minutes, it's all over. These predators are smart. We've taken advantage of their instincts to trap our enemies." He smirked at the fallen ninja, who had bugs all over them.

"G-Get off me." One of the ordered in a weak voice. He then noticed a wire by his arm and, when he lifted his arms and accidentally pulled the wire, him and his team were lifted from the ground in a net.

"There's one team down…or rather up." Kiba smirked.

[--

Outside the forest, Anko was looking inside with her lips turned in a grin at the sound of screaming already.

"Hm, it sounds like the fun has begun." She mused.

[--

Others who heard the scream were Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. They turned and looked in the direction it came from, all a bit on edge since they stepped into the forest.

"Aww shit." Sakura sighed. "I do _not_ like this place." She confessed.

"Oh, come on. It's nothing to be scared of, Sakura-chan. It's gonna be a piece of cake." He assured her. the boy stood in silence for a few seconds before turning and running to the nearest tree. "Excuse me for a second. I really gotta…you know." He told them, beginning to unzip his trousers.

"AH! Baka! Don't do that here!" Sakura complained.

"Why not?" Naruto asked. he took three seconds to realise what made Sakura different from him and Sasuke, in the form of looking from her slightly pink face to her red-and-fishnet-clad chest. "S-Sorry, Sakura-chan!" He stuttered, turning bright red. The boy then zipped up the small amount he had undone and left to find a bush or a different tree.

—

Three minutes later, Naruto came back with a big grin, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh man, that was a lot. I wrote my whole name." He laughed.

"Ewwwwwwww." Sakura whispered. She then noticed something out of the ordinary about Naruto and her eyes narrowed. Just as she was about to take action, Sasuke punched the blonde across the face, sending him flying into a tree.

"What the heck was _that_ all about?" Naruto asked, wiping his mouth free of a trail of blood and dodging when Sasuke tried to kick him.

Sakura frowned, noticing the minor change in attitude, and kicked the boy's chin, sending up into the bottom of a thick branch, where Sasuke kicked his chest and sent him crumpling to the ground. Naruto got up slowly and rubbed his chest.

"Are you guys nuts?" He asked. "What's up with you?"

"Yeah, you wish. We just attacked before _you_ could." Sasuke grunted, taking a kunai and leaping forwards.

"Alright then, bring it on!" Naruto accepted, taking out his own kunai and parrying with Sasuke's blow.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called. The pinkette nodded and jumped forwards with a kick, hitting Naruto to the ground. Sasuke went in for his own hit, but Sakura did too and they hit each other across the small clearing, hitting their backs into trees.

"Back off, Sasuke!" Sakura growled.

"That was your fault!" Sasuke yelled back. "Oh, forget it!" He cried, getting up and launching at Naruto. Sakura glared and did the same as both drew kunai and Naruto had to jump back to avoid the hits.

"Talk!" Sakura demanded.

"What've you done with Naruto?" Sasuke asked firmly.

"What? What do you mean? I _am_ Naruto!" He said desperately.

"Then where's the cut on your cheek?" Sasuke glared. 'Naruto's' eyes widened as he realised his mistake.

"I guess you didn't know that the real Naruto got a cut on his face before this test." Sakura smirked. "And you also have your shuriken holster on your left leg, not your right."

"But the real Naruto is right-handed. You're transformation skill is worse than Naruto's!" Sasuke accused. "Tell me who you are!" He demanded as a cloud of smoke covered Naruto. When it cleared, it showed a ninja from Rain in a full white bodysuit, a gas mask and goggles with his hair spiked and his Hatei-ate around his forehead.

"Alright, you got me. So what? I'm still gonna take your scroll. Now, hand it over, or else." He threatened the duo. "So, which one of you has it…I wonder…"

"Get lost." Sakura grunted, holding three senbon in each hand.

"Fine. I suppose I'll have to take you _both_ on!" He charged. Sasuke and Sakura got ready, but neither could help but feel a bit of doubt.

'_I can't work with Sasuke! Our team work sucks!'_ Sakura thought, looking over at her dark-haired team mated.

'_Damn! Sakura and I would most likely knock each other out before this guy get the chance. What're we gonna do?'_ Sasuke asked himself, locking eyes with the pinkette. Something clicked in their heads and they both smirked.

Eat or Be Eaten: Panic in the Forest

Sakura sat on the floor in a meditating stance with her legs crossed as Sasuke jumped up into the air, rapidly performing hand seals. He moved his hand to his mouth and called out his ninjutsu name.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" The Uchiha boy yelled, sending balls of fire at the Rain-nin. He dodged them and ran at Sakura, who had her eyes closed and was muttering under her breath. Sasuke growled and threw a shuriken at the man, causing him to switch targets, jump up and parry his kunai with Sasuke's.

They jumped away from each other and landed on branches of separate trees, Sasuke clenching his teeth from the force of the knock-back. His pink haired team mate's eyes snapped open and she looked right up at the dark Uchiha. He saw that her eyes were grey, meaning that it was Emotionless and one or more of the other emotions were out already.

"I found him!" She called, pointing to where Naruto was. "Happy and Depressed are with him! You take care of the Rain-nin while I help Naruto-kun!" Emotionless ordered, not noticing the slip of suffix on the end of Naruto's name.

"Fine." Sasuke yelled, hitting the Rain-nin in the direction Sakura ran to help Naruto.

"HEY! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" The Uchiha boy heard Naruto yell as he saw the blonde wriggling like a worm in his ropes. He was about to help him, but Sasuke saw Happy and Depressed running to his sides as Anger and Rage took on the Rain-nin's team mates.

"Baka." Emotionless rolled her eyes as she cut the rope.

"Thank you." Naruto smiled, getting up and tossing the rope aside.

"You better keep you mind on the game!" Sasuke's opponent scolded as he turned and threw three kunai in Sasuke's direction. The latter jumped down from the branch he was perched on and held onto the side with chakra in his hands as the weapons lodged themselves into the wood.

"Kuso!" He hissed, seeing the explosive note on the kunai. It exploded, but Sasuke jumped away just in time. He landed on the ground on his hands on toes, rising slowly into a crawling position. Before he could stand, the Rain-nin was behind him with a kunai at his throat and Sasuke's eyes were wide in shock.

"Sorry; this is one test you fail." The Rain-nin mocked without a drip of sympathy in his tone. "Now, hand over the scroll or you die." He threatened. Rage paused and growled, jumping away from her current opponent as Depressed took her place.

"RRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!" She roared, charging at the Rain-nin with three shuriken in each hand. The girl launched them at him and Sasuke smirked as he swept to the side to dodge, only to have to jump up when a kunai landed in the ground where he once was. Naruto jumped down from the branch he had thrown the kunai from and Rage burst into red butterflies, landing on and sinking into Emotionless.

"Oh no, you don't!" Naruto yelled as the ninja landed a little way off from both him and Sasuke.

'_Well, well…better late than never, I guess.'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he used his chakra to pick up a kunai with the sole of his foot. He kicked and launched it up into the tree, where the Rain-nin he was fighting had jumped. His eyes flashed with the Sharingan.

Sasuke jumped up as the ninja span to avoid the kunai, but was too late to see the speed of the Uchiha. The latter was next to him, a kunai planted firmly in the Rain-nin's shoulder. He hazard a look around and saw Anger burst into a flock of purple butterflies, sinking into Emotionless and leaving the grey-eyed girl to fight off two ninja with her dark-blue-eyed counterpart, Depression. Happy saw this and helped them.

The ninja all shared a look and the three Rain-nin jumped off into the trees, each of them careful with their new injuries. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura's remaining emotions all landed on the forest floor. Happy and Depression burst into orange and blue butterflies, entering Emotionless and causing her eyes to swirl into green as Sakura sighed in tiredness from using her blood-line limit again so soon after using it to cheat on the test.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Naruto stated. Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw a kunai lodged into a tree and a burning piece of paper attached to it. He looked around and saw at least seven more.

"Explosive notes!" He called out. "Come on!"

"You guys go! I'll take try to lessen the explosion!" Sakura told them, standing weakly on her shaky legs.

"Sakura-chan! You're weaker that usual!" Naruto cried in panic.

"GO!" She roared. Sasuke scowled and grabbed Naruto's collar, taking him as far from the bomb as he could in the short amount of time he had before the bombs went off. Sakura breathed in and sent out her green chakra, forming a dome around her and all the notes she could sense. The explosion was large and she was the only one around to experience it.

[--

Sasuke and Naruto landed some way from the explosion in just enough time to hear a loud 'BOOM'. The blonde choked on a muffled sob, worried and fearing the worst for his pink-haired friend. Sasuke just glared at the ground and sat down, pulling Naruto down to sit opposite him.

"That proves that we can't trust appearances." Sasuke told him solemnly, his head bowed towards the ground. "After seeing that Sakura's missing, some of the teams might even try to impersonate her or something."

"So?" Naruto growled.

"We need to come up with a way of knowing that each of us is who we say we are, and not some impostor using a transformation jutsu." He told the blonde. Naruto nodded.

"Makes sense, I guess." He grunted.

"Okay. The password will be a question, to which only you, me and Sakura would know the answer. We don't trust anyone who doesn't know it…no matter what." Sasuke informed him.

"But…what if Sakura-chan doesn't know it?" Naruto scowled at him.

"She will." Sasuke assured. "Okay, listen closely, because I only wanna say this once. The question will be; 'When does a ninja strike?' and then the response is; 'A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. _That_ is the moment for a ninja to strike.' Got it?" Sasuke asked him.

"You got one…a little shorter?" Naruto asked lamely.

"No, Naruto." Sasuke sighed. "That's it. Are you too dumb to even memorise _that_?"

"No! I just thought it was gonna be a pass_word_, not a pass-_speech_." He rolled his eyes. "Now, come on. We gotta find Sakura-chan."

"Right…I'll take the scroll." Sasuke told him.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke, I—AHH!" Naruto cried as a sound passed his ear, causing an ache to develop. "What was that?" He asked as he and Sasuke looked towards a wide cave behind them. Five seconds later, a blast of wind erupted from the cave.

"What is it _now_?!" Sasuke yelled over the roaring wind. He and Naruto placed charka in their feet to keep them upright. The wind stopped and dust rose from the force, causing Naruto and Sasuke to split up. The wind cleared and revealed three ninja from Grass. The woman from earlier with the long tongue and her two team mates.

"Alright. You two fan out into the woods and keep your eyes open. I'll handle _this_ alone." The woman commanded, looking around. Sasuke was hiding in a bush to the side. A noise form behind him caused him to get up and turn around, but all he saw was Naruto.

"Naruto." He groaned in frustration.

"Teme…what the _hell_ was _that_?" Naruto asked grumpily.

"Stop!" Sasuke threatened, holding out a kunai. First; answer the question. When does a ninja strike?"

"Right…a ninja strikes…before lunch and after a bathroom break with something to do with night and a weapon shoved up his butt and ramen on his head." Naruto nodded, happy with his remembrance of the password. Sasuke rolled his eyes and lowered his weapons.

"Yep, that's Naruto, all right." He muttered. Another noise was made, but this one from the tree above them. The boys looked up in just enough time to see their pink-haired team mate jump out of the tree looking in better condition that when she told them to leave.

"Sup, guys?" She smirked.

"WAIT!" Naruto yelled. "We have a password for you to answer!" He told her, pointing a finger in her direction.

"Okay, shoot." Sakura shrugged.

"When does a ninja strike?" The blonde asked.

"Easy. A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. _That_ is the moment for a ninja to strike." She told them, tilting her head. Sasuke relaxed and was about to speak when Naruto threw a kunai at her and she dodged.

"Oi! Are you nuts?" Sasuke asked his team mate with a scowl.

"Yeah! You could've killed me!" She pouted, crossing her arms.

"I have to admit, you're quicker than the last one." Naruto congratulated grudgingly.

"What? But, she said the password perfectly." Sasuke disagreed.

"Exactly, that's what's wrong." Naruto told him.

"What?" Sasuke asked as the Sakura in front of them came closer, but again had to dodge a kunai.

"Sakura-chan and I were talking before the first exam. We said that if we got separated and I assed for a password, she would ignore whatever question I asked and just say 'Naruto for Hokage and Sakura is a Hime in disguise'." Naruto grinned.

"Right." Sasuke nodded. _'Man, these two are a __**perfect**__ team. Naruto may be an idiot, but when he and Sakura work together, not even __**that**__ is a draw back.'_ He frowned. _'And then Sakura and __**I**__ are like oil and water.'_

"Okay, who are you! I know that's not Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. 'Sakura' grinned widely and a snake-like tongue passed her lips, licking them.

"Aren't we the clever one." She said in the voice that belonged to the woman from Grass. A loud bang and a big cloud of smoke covered Sakura's impersonator, clearing to reveal the Grass-nin, in her black and tan outfit with a big purple bow around her waist and a conical hat perched on her head.

"I knew it." Naruto muttered while the woman grinned.

"Tell me, if your team mate knew a different password, why did you let your other team mate make up a password that _you_ would never remember anyway?" The woman questioned as Naruto grinned.

"Because, Sakura-chan told me not to tell anyone the password, not even Sasuke-teme. It was _our_ safety code, not _his_. We may be a team, but there are many things that Sakura-chan and I share that we leave Sasuke in the dark about. The code, training sessions and my ever favourite Saturday dates." Naruto grinned, a boyish twinkle in his eyes.

"I'm impressed." She smiled, extending her 's' like a snake would. "I would have assumed that you were the dumb one of your trio, but it seems that Sakura-chan makes up for that."

"Don't you dare call her that!" Naruto yelled. The woman smiled again.

"But it's what I always called her." She shrugged.

"Wh…What do you mean?" Naruto asked slowly. The woman ignored him and turned to a scowling Sasuke.

"Well, _you_ certainly haven't dropped your guard, have you?" She mused with a glint of mischief in her eye. "This promises to be _very_ entertaining indeed." The woman grinned, licking her lips with her long tongue.

'_So…if Sakura-chan isn't here…where __**is**__ she?'_ Naruto thought, on the verge of running off to finder her. _'But, then again, would I find __**her**__ or a corpse?'_ He wondered humourlessly.

"Naruto." Sasuke called to him quietly.

"What?" Naruto replied, not taking his eyes off of the woman.

"Go and find Sakura. Make sure she's okay. I got this." He told the blonde as he analyzed his opponent. Without another word, Naruto nodded and jumped up into a branch.

"On no, you don't." The woman hummed as she preformed a jutsu and sent Naruto flying. Now it was just her and Sasuke.

[--

"Unum." Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes. He was currently upside down with his butt pressed against the trunk of a tree. "Okay, up-see-daisy." He muttered as he twisted himself into a sitting position, not upright again. "Huh?" He asked himself, looking around. "Damn, she got me with her jutsu!" He scolded himself.

His anger was cut short when a shadow covered him and a hissing sound was heard. Naruto's mouth hung open as he looked up and saw a gold and brown scaled snake with golden eyes and a fork tongue. It was curled up, but at least three-times the size of the tree Naruto was crouched in front of.

"That is one…_big_…snake!" He yelled in fear. The snake came closer and Naruto narrowed his eyes. It dove for him, ready to make the blonde his next meal, but Naruto jumped away too fast. However, the snake wasn't dumb and it was able to catch Naruto, constricting him in a spiral of scales and tightening its grip. Naruto yelled out as the snake took him into its mouth and swallowed him in one bite.

[--

The woman took a scroll out of her back pocket and saw Sasuke twitch, wanting to run and grab it but being smart enough to stay put in the face of a stronger enemy. She smirked in realisation that she had the opposite scroll to his Heaven scroll. She had the Earth scroll he needed.

"Ahhhhhhhhh." She said in enlightenment. "You want to get your hands on my Earth scroll, don't you? it would go so nicely with your Heaven scroll, right?" She asked, licking the scroll. She then lifted it to her pale, thin lips where she proceeded in wrapping her tongue around it and pushing it slowly into her open mouth. She swallowed and held her hand over her face.

"No way." Sasuke shook his head.

"Well, when this is all over, one of us will have _both_ scrolls." She claimed as Sasuke gasped. "And the other will be dead." The woman continued, looking up and pulling on the bottom eyelid of one of her snake-like eyes.

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt pain spreading through his whole body at a rapid pace. He saw a kunai heading for him, but all he could do was kneel there with his mouth open, the kunai planted firmly in his forehead._

Outside of the genjutsu, Sasuke's posture was the same, but without the kunai. He fell back without breathing, as if truly dead, when he was freed from the genjutsu and regained his senses. Sasuke took slow, steady breaths as he gulped and crouched on his toes.

'_Is this an illusion?'_ He asked himself as he hunched forwards and threw up the contents of his stomach. _'No…it's more than that. Her thirst for blood is almost suffocating. The look in her eyes…I saw the moment of my own death.'_ He realised in fear. _'Who is she…__**what**__ is she?'_ Trying to get up, Sasuke's feet slipped and he fell on his butt, only his hands stopping him from falling over completely. As he struggled, the Grass-nin did nothing but watch.

[--

"Let…me…out…of…here!" Naruto's voice could be heard from a lump in the snake's body as it slithered along a branch. "I'll make you sorry you ever swallowed me you-!" He yelled as he stabbed at the snake's insides with his kunai. "Let me out!" The blonde cried. "Hey, wait a second." He said, reaching into his pouch. "Wouldn't you rather have this? I was saving this rice ball for lunch."

Naruto pulled a rice ball out from his pack and held it loosely in his hand as he was squished by the snake and covered further in its digestive juices. The ball slipped from his hand and rolled away from him, getting covered in the same stuff as Naruto was. He watched as the rice ball dissolved into nothing.

"Wha-?! It's all gone!" He cried in panic. "And I'll be digested just like that in another minute!" The boy noted as he was pushed further towards the tail of the snake. "No! Let me out! Someone get me out of here!"

[--

Sasuke sat on the ground, shaking as he looked at the laughing woman in front of him. He gulped and wished that he hadn't told Naruto to leave in the first place, and that he didn't run as soon as the woman released her hold on Sakura's appearance. Now he was alone and at the mercy of this woman. The woman who rivalled death at his game.

"You're paralyzed with fear." She mused evilly.

'_What's wrong with me?'_ Sasuke asked himself as he tried to get up, to shift his weight, anything! _'Come on…move, Sasuke, move!'_ He willed his body, but it didn't listen. With a slow movement, his shaking hand went to his leg pouch and pulled out a kunai. _'Yes! That's right.'_ He continued as he got up slowly and stood in front of the ninja, no longer shaking as much as he was before.

"Very good." The woman mocked with a sinister smile. "Now what happens?" She asked as Sasuke's eyes widened.

'_It's no use! I…can't…move.'_ He grunted in his mind as he watched the woman step closer.

"Don't worry. I'll make it quick." She promised, taking two kunai from her hip pouch. "But I don't have to tell you that, do I? You've seen what I'll do with your own eyes." She stopped a few feet from him as he shook even more. "I expected you to be more of a challenge…how disappointing." She sighed as she lazily threw the kunai at him, aiming for right in between the eyes.

[--

"I can't believe it." Naruto muttered as he was further crushed by the snake's insides. "Is this really how it ends?" He asked, remembering the few people who actually showed him anything besides loathing.

An image of Iruka entered his mind.

"Iruka-sensei…"

The Hokage was the next one he thought of.

"Old man Hokage…"

Then the brat who called him boss.

"Konohamaru…"

Next was his sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei…"

An image of Sasuke came to mind.

"Well, some people I'll miss less than others."

Finally, pink hair and green eyes entered his thoughts. A smile, that one he had only seen on her face when she saw her brother and the twins.

"I'll never see that smile…not directed at me. Sakura-chan was always there when no one else was. She stood up for me, trained with me, and even helped me get stronger…even though she said that I should keep that as a surprise for now…Hey, wait! I can't give up! Sakura-chan believes in me! I know she does!

"And Sasuke…I never proved to Sakura-chan that I'm better than him! I can't just go out without shower her that! Sasuke-teme is my rival and I _will_ beat him! That's it! I'm outta here! Whether Slither-puss likes it, or not!" Naruto yelled.

[--

"So, that's how it is." The woman from Grass smirked as she looked at the empty space in front of her and the kunai lodged in the wood. Putting away her second, unused kunai, a bird sounded above her.

[--

Sasuke breathed deeply as he held his kunai in his leg. That was how he had fully undone the genjutsu, since it was the only way he knew how without getting the user to stop. He gritted his teeth, wondering what was taking Naruto so long and whether Sakura was alive or not.

[--

"A desperate move…but a clever one." The woman mused, looking at the blood on the floor in front of her.

-

_She sighed as she lazily threw the kunai at him, aiming for right in between the eyes._

'_**Move, Sasuke…move!'**__ The Uchiha continued to tell himself. His eyes widened, as did the eyes of the woman in front of him as he swung his kunai-holding arm and drove the kunai into his thigh. This broke him from the after-effects of the genjutsu in enough time to activate his Sharingan and move himself out of the path of the kunai. Sasuke jumped away from the Grass-nin as fast as he could._

'_**He overcame the fear with pain.'**__ The woman noted_

-

"So…this prey is not so helpless after all." She mused in her own thoughts of the entertainment Sasuke's fight would give her.

[--

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto called as more and more clones developed inside the snake. The lump in the snake got bigger and bigger until it exploded and the clones came pouring out. "Sorry, but you picked the wrong shinobi." Naruto told the snake's head. "I'm gonna be Hokage some day. If you think I'm gonna be a pile of snake-waste in the woods, you're not only scrambled-snake, but you're _crazy_ scrambled snake."

[--

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he ripped the kunai out of his leg and covered his pain-filled cry with a wince. He dropped the kunai next to him and applied pressure around his wound. It made the cut hurt more, but it lessened the bleeding.

'_I gotta move. I gotta get away from her!'_ Sasuke panicked. _'But how do I do it and…WHERE do I go?!'_ He screamed in his mind, unable to think clearly under all this pressure. His senses screamed at him last-minute and he only just managed to avoid getting eaten by a giant snake.

"Unbelievable." He grunted as he jumped away. "I didn't even notice a giant snake…I'm losing it!" Sasuke carried on through the air as the snake curled around a tree and launched towards him again. This time, however, he not only saw the snake, but the Grass-nin's face. "No! Stay away!" He cried, throwing kunai at it and killing the snake.

He landed on a think tree branch, panting and shaking. Blood trailed down his leg slowly from the wound and he gasped. Near the snake's head, the body was cracking and something was rising up from inside it.

"I sense your fear and desperation." The Grass-nin's voice sounded as the purple bow of her outfit showed from inside the snake. She rose further until she was full out, but her face was shadowed. "It's only natural. The pray must never let down it's guard, not even for a moment," The woman lifted her head to show a feral, predatory grin. "In the presence of it's predator!" She laughed manically.

She leapt forwards her twisted her own body around the tree in the same way the snake did, licking her lips as she got closer and closer to were Sasuke was perched. The latter yelled out in pure fear. It was that moment that kunai sailed towards the woman, finding themselves stuck above her head.

"Looks like I came just in time!" Naruto yelled from the direction the kunai came from. Sasuke and the woman turned to look at him, as he stood with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke called. Naruto's grin became a scowl. He had not had the chance to find her with the snake attack and having to come and save Sasuke. He just hoped that she was okay.

[--

Sakura coughed as she sat up, her body covered in cuts, bruises and scrapes from the bomb. Another cough erupted from her throat and her head was light. She felt incredibly dizzy, but was determined to find Naruto and Sasuke soon. So, Sakura stood on weak legs and stumbled a little, holding a tree for support.

"I hope they got away." She whispered to herself, pushing her body off of the tree and tripping over her feet. She fell on the ground, her back facing the sky, with frustration building in her small form. "Man…I haven't been this weak since I was a baby."

"That's true." An amused voice called from above her. A thump echoed in her throbbing head as the man picked her up as gently as he could and sat her down with her bruised back leaning against a tree.

"Thanks." She sighed as the man seemed surprised.

"Hmm, Konoha must be making an impression on you." He mused.

"How so?" Sakura grunted, felling her ribs and confirming that three of them on her right side were broken and two were seriously fractured while she had broken only one on her left.

"You've never thanked anyone before." He told her, leaning her forwards so, to anyone looking from behind him, it would appear as if he was hugging her. In reality, he was prodding her back for any serious damage to her spine. He found none, but she was going to be sore for a while.

"Big deal." She scowled as he let her go and she leant on the tree yet again, her eyes heavy with tiredness but her mind fully alert with the need to find Naruto. The man noticed this.

"Your mission. Do I need to remind you?" He asked her, causing her to snap her head towards him and then wince from the pain of doing so.

"No, you don't." She growled, rubbing her next and soaking some chakra into it to lessen the pain. Sakura was no medic, but her brother had taught her how to heal a small cut and numb pain for an hour or two.

"I think I do." He told her. "It's to capture that kid."

"I know." Sakura said warningly.

"You can't be Naruto-kun's friend and complete your mission, Sakura. You have to choose. Him or us." The man commanded.

"I…I don't know anymore." She confessed weakly.

"Well, you better make up your mind. We come for him soon, and no one will hesitate to kill you if you get in our way." He told her darkly.

"I understand…Kisame-san." Sakura nodded as the Akatsuki-nin jumped into the trees again. "I understand." She whispered, knowing that no one would hear her. "But that does _not_ mean that I will choose _you_." She growled, getting up and limping off to find her team.


	16. Curse Marks and That Bastaaaah!

Chapter Sixteen

Naruto's Counter Attack: Never Give In

"So, anyway," Naruto began from his perch on the branch. "What was that password again, Sasuke-teme?" He asked with a grin.

"Naruto! Get out of here! You don't know what you're up against! Get out of here!" Sasuke yelled up to the blonde, staring at him with his Sharingan while the woman looked at Naruto with annoyance flashing in her eyes. "Go now! While you still can!"

"So, Naruto-kun, you managed to escape from my friend." The woman mused casually.

'_Hmm, I get it.'_ Naruto thought._ 'So that wasn't just nay old __**random**__ giant snake attack. The snake was sent by __**her**__…or __**it**__…or…__**whatever**__ this demon is…'_

'_He doesn't get it…he doesn't know what he's dealing with.'_ Sasuke noted when Naruto didn't move, despite his warnings. _'What do I do?'_

"Okay, okay." Naruto said. "I don't know what's going on here, but you've been picking on my friends and I don't like that! So you just better slither back into your hole, snake lady, before I make a pair of shoes outta ya."

'_Huh?'_ Sasuke gaped. _'Little idiot! He's just gonna get us all killed! I've got to do something…but __**what**__? Kami-sama, Sakura, why do you always disappear when we need you the most?!'_

[--

"Kami-sama! Why can I never find them when I need them the most?!" A pink-haired girl growled to herself.

"Who?" A male voice asked behind her.

"Kakuzu, I swear that I will kill yo-!" She stopped, turning around to see her older brother and _not_ the Akatsuki member. "Juhi-nii-san?"

"Yeah…who's Kakuzu?" Juhi asked, raising his eyebrow at his younger sister in suspicion.

"Just…one of the other candidates." Sakura brushed off. "I met him just before the first exam."

"No you didn't." Tsuki cut in with a frown as he jumped into view.

"We've been watching you since all the other candidates entered Konoha, and you didn't meet _anybody_." Taiyoo confirmed.

"Stalkers." Sakura muttered. "Look, he's just some guy! Nothing big, I swear." She assured them.

"Well…okay then." Juhi gave up, knowing that his sister was too stubborn to fight with about something like that. "Want us to help you find Naruto and Sasuke?" He asked.

"No! I'm fine." She promised. What they didn't know was that she was expecting another visit from the Akatsuki soon, and the criminals didn't usually care if there were other people around.

"So, we'll see ya in the next phase of the exam then?" Taiyoo asked before his twin could yell about how she most certainly was _not_ fine.

"Yeah. Bye." She smiled.

[--

"Taiyoo, she wasn't fine." Tsuki grumbled. The look-alike Hoshi boy sighed and turned his vision to Juhi, wanting the Jounin/Genin-poser to explain.

"Well, it's been four years…we can't really just come back into her life and demand that she tell us every detail of what she's been doing." Juhi elaborated.

"So, what do we do now?" Tsuki asked.

"I think you know." Juhi smirked.

"Oh yeah. We do the only thing we can do." Tsuki shrugged. "Commence operation S.P.Y!"

"What do those letters actually stand for, anyway?" Taiyoo asked with his brow raised. "I mean, that's the codename for every mission we do."

"Well, the letters stand for Secret Plan Yoghurt." Juhi replied.

"…Yoghurt?" Taiyoo repeated with a sweat drop.

"Hey! I was hungry when I thought of it and I needed a 'Y'! It was either Yoghurt or Youth!" Tsuki defended. "And I am _nothing_ like that weirdo with the green spandex!"

[--

"Sakura-chan, I hope you aren't planning to go back with _them_." A red-eyed man in a black cloak warned.

"Of course not, Itachi-san." Sakura scowled. Itachi looked over her wounds and his eyes narrowed.

"You're still weak." He commented.

"Are you insulting me?" Sakura scoffed.

"No. Merely stating facts." Itachi replied.

"Hn. If I'm so weak, then why are you still bothering with me?" The pinkette glared threateningly. However, unlike his brother, Itachi paid no attention to the glare.

"Two reasons. One is Leader-sama's fondness for you and his belief that you will grow into an acceptable fighter. And two…" He trailed off, taking the younger girl in his arms. "You interest me." The murderer finished, holding the stiff girl in an awkward embrace.

"Get off me." Sakura ordered.

"Why?" Itachi questioned, loosening his grip and holding her shoulders so she looked into his eyes.

"Because I said so." She ground out. Itachi studied her for a moment, looking at her shaking fists, clenched teeth and finally at the emotions flittering in her eyes.

"You're going soft." He realised. "That Kyuubi boy is getting to you. I shouldn't have to remind you that it is your mission to apprehend him for Kisame and I. Nor should I need to tell you that this is the only way to get Leader-sama to dispose of that _seal_ the _traitor_ and him combined gave to you." The teen reminded. Sakura's hand subconsciously drifted to her right shoulder and she bit her lip.

"Fuck off." She choked out. Her cheek stung madly when Itachi struck her in the same place as Sasuke had hit her only a day before. She bit her lip harder and blood began to spill from the cut that was forming.

"Do not use that language or tone with me." He warned with a glare that made Sakura want to run away and hide. Instead, she did something that she would have never done before. She glared back hit his hand off of her shoulder, backing away from him when she did.

"Don't touch me." She hissed through gritted teeth. Biting her tongue so that she wouldn't release a howl of pain, Sakura jumped into the trees and sped off towards her team, trying to ignore the burning pain of her injuries and the remaining sting of her cheek.

[--

'_It's no use.'_ Sasuke realised as he looked at the creepy grin forming on the woman's mouth. _'There's only one way.'_ He submitted, turning off his Sharingan and looking down at the branch. "You can have it!" Sasuke called, causing the woman to look at him.

"Have _what_, Sasuke-kun?" She purred, looking right at him with interest.

"You want the scroll, right?" Sasuke asked, reaching into his hip pouch and pulling out the Heaven scroll. "That's what you want, isn't it? Alright then. Take it and leave us in peace." He commanded.

"Huh?!" Naruto asked in surprise at his team mate's willingness to just give up. "Wha-? Sasuke! Are you crazy or what? We're just gonna hand the scroll over to the enemy?! NO WAY!" He roared. "What's wrong with you?!"

"Shut up and stay out of it!" Sasuke snapped, glaring at Naruto.

"What?" The blonde muttered to himself. 

"Very wise. Very sensible." The woman mused. "Sometimes, the prey realises that to save their own skin, they need to distract the predator with something a little more precious."

"Take it." Sasuke bid, throwing the scroll to the woman.

It soared through the air and came closer and closer to her when a blur rushed passed and snatched it out of her reach. Naruto landed near Sasuke, the scroll clasped tightly in his grip.

"Got it." He said to no one in particular.

"Stop being the hero, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled. "Just stay out of this and leave it to me!" He ordered.

"RAWR!" Naruto turned with an angry cry and punched Sasuke in the face, sending the Uchiha back. Sasuke used his hand as leverage and flipped himself onto a branch not too far from his blonde team mate.

"Argh. Stupid fool! You don't know what you're doing!" He yelled in desperation, trying to get Naruto to let go of his pride and admit defeat.

"I may not know the password…but I know who _I_ am." Naruto said through pants. "You're the one I'm not so sure about. How do I know that you are who you day you are?"

"Dobe! What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked in anger at Naruto's 'stupidity'. "What sort of nonsense is this? It's me, you loser!"

"Liar." Naruto growled. "Liar. You may _look_ just like him…you may _sound_ just like him…but…there's no _way_ you're the Sasuke I know! I don't _care_ how tough of a fight you've been through. Surrendering…giving up the scroll…when did Sasuke become a coward?! You keep saying that I don't understand what's going on, but I do! You _choked_, that's what it is!" He accused while Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"It's sad." The woman commented, standing up and letting her tongue run over her lips. "It doesn't matter." She said, lifting her sleeve to reveal a pattern of two black snakes twisted around her lower arm. "As far as the scroll goes, I could simply kill you and take it." She noted, biting her thumb and drawing blood. The woman smeared the blood in the centre of her mark as Naruto grabbed a kunai.

"Let's see you try it!" He prompted as he ran at her.

"Don't!" Sasuke called, but it was already too late. "Naruto no!" He yelled, trying to stop him. Naruto jumped up and poised himself to attack, ignoring Sasuke's cries.

'_Forget Sasuke! I'm going to have to do this myself!'_ Naruto realised as he descended towards the woman.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." She said as strong gusts of wind surrounded her and made Naruto hover in the air. A giant snake appeared out of no where and the woman stood on its head as the snake moved towards Naruto, who had landed on the branch. It moved forwards and its head split the branch he was one, but Naruto moved just in time.

[--

"That is no way to treat a Buddha." A Chunin, who was standing with the two who had posed as Genin, commented as he looked down on the blood-splattered statue of one of the Buddha statues.

"What'd you think? It's some kind of ninjutsu, isn't it?" The one with a bandana asked the man with glasses.

"Whatever it is, it's a problem." The spiky-haired man commented as the glasses-man nodded. "Just when things were starting to run so smoothly, too. What a drag." He sighed, rubbing his head.

"We've gotta report this. Go get the proctor." The man with the bandana ordered.

"Right." Glasses nodded as he jumped off.

In front of the men were three corpses.

[--

"Mmmm. Nothing makes dango go down like a little red bean soup." Anko commented as she sat atop the office outside the Forest of Death with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof, swallowing her soup and eating her dango. She bit off a piece of dango and chewed it slowly before swallowing it and drinking some more soup.

"Nice." She smiled, taking another ball of dango off of the skewer. "Guess it's about that time. As soon as I finish this snack, I'll see how the little kiddies are doing." She bit off the last ball. "The quicker ones will be finishing at about this time. I guess I'll just go and meet them at the tower. There, a perfect Konoha symbol."

She threw her dango-less skewer at the tree trunk where the other fifty three sticks were. Now it formed a completed Konoha symbol when you looked at it from her seat. She grinned childishly at her creation and congratulated herself on a job well done. Only, not even she was sure about whether she was proud of the Konoha symbol she'd formed or the fact that she's eaten fifty four sticks of dango in under seven hours. A puff of smoke represented someone's arrival, but she paid no attention to them as she started on another stick of dango.

"Pardon, ma'am." The glasses-wearing Chunin said as he kneeled in front of the hut Anko was sitting on. "We have a problem."

"What sort of problem?" Anko asked, getting interested.

"Corpses, ma'am." He stated simply. "Three of them."

"Aww, I'm trying to eat here." She complained, chewing on another piece of dango.

"I think you'll want to see. There's something strange about them." He told her, getting the woman to look at him. Anko swallowed and placed a finger on her chin.

"Besides being dead?" She mocked in a serious tone.

[--

Anko stepped forwards and looked at the ninja in front of her, a frown forming on her face.

"I looked through their identifications. Ninja from the hidden grass village." One of the men told her. "All three of them were registered for the Chunin exams."

"They weren't just killed." The man with spiked hair noted.

"All their faces…they're gone." Anko whispered, looking towards the blank patch were eyes, a nose and a mouth should have been.

"Yeah. There's nothing were their faces used to be. Like they've melted or something." He nodded. Anko moved her hand up to the left side of her body, in between her shoulder and her neck when she saw the big purple bow around the ninja's waist.

'_No doubt about it.'_ She noted mentally with her teeth and her fists clenched. _'This is __**his**__ jutsu. But…why is he here? What is he doing at the Chunin exams?'_ The woman swallowed and turned. "Okay, I need photos of what these three used to look like." She ordered. "Where're their IDs?"

"Right here, ma'am." The glasses-wearing man said, pulling three IDs out from under his arm. Anko took a look and saw that one of them was the one who gave her back her kunai after she threw it at a blonde kid.

'_So, this is the face he stole.'_ Anko thought. _'Had it already happened when…?'_

—

"_I was…just returning your kunai." The woman explained slowly._

"_Why thank you, good Grass ninja." Anko said with a smile._

—

"We've got _big_ trouble!" Anko told the three Chunin. "Okay, tell Hokage-sama _exactly_ what happened here! And while you're at it, tell ANBU black ops that they'd better get a couple of operatives to the Forest of Death. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go after these guys. Go!" She ordered.

"Right!" The men responded, leaping off to do as they were told. Once they were gone, Anko reached up to her shoulder again.

'_He's come…he's here in the Hidden Leaf Village.'_ She confirmed to herself.

[--

Naruto panted as he looked up at the snake and the woman on its head, who just smiled eerily down at him.

"Well, well…what a _tasty_ little meal you'll make." She taunted. "Careful; he likes to play with his food." The woman warned as the snake's tail came down towards Naruto's branch. The blonde was thrown up and crashed through three branched before he hit a fourth with a grunt of pain.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called out as the blonde began to fall downwards.

"Enough play. Finish him off." The woman ordered as she watched Naruto's decent towards the snake's mouth. Naruto opened his eyes, red with the Kyuubi's influence. He twisted his body in the air and lifted a leg up.

"EAT THIS!" Naruto yelled as he kicked the snake's nose, sending a pulse through the creature. The smile fell off the woman's face as Naruto used the snake to push himself away from her and her 'pet'. It was back in an instant when she saw his eyes.

"But how?" She questioned herself. "It's impossible."

Naruto leapt forwards with a battle cry and began an assault of fists and feet on the snake's nose. The snake just lifted its tongue and batted him away, but Naruto pushed his feet off of a tree trunk and jumped back towards the over-sized reptile. The woman smiled again as she opened her hand and blew weak fire from her mouth. Naruto was caught in these flames and fell back. He began the decent to the forest floor, smashing through branches. Eventually, the blonde hit a thick branch and fell no further.

"That fire in his eyes…there's no mistaking it." The woman grinned.

"Woah…is that…Naruto?" Sasuke wondered unsurely.

'_Things are becoming __**very**__ interesting…'_ She mused to herself. "Now then, let's see how well you do, Sasuke-kun." The woman said. The snake turned at its master's command and moved in Sasuke's direction, ready to strike, while Sasuke didn't move. An orange flash moved towards the snake.

[--

'_This is bad.'_ Anko thought as she jumped from branch-to-branch through the forest. _'I've gotta hurry…and __**pray**__ that I'm not too late.'_

[--

Naruto was next to the snake with a kunai in its nose, while the snake was biting down on part of the branch Sasuke stood on. The woman just looked down at him with a serine and slightly amused smile on her face as Naruto panted from the speed he had to move.

"I can't…you're not _hurt_ are ya?" Naruto asked. He looked up with his red eyes and a raged expression. "Scardy cat." He said to Sasuke, who just stood in shock. Sasuke's eyes widened when he looked at Naruto's.

'_Naruto.'_ He thought.

—

"_Hey." Sasuke called calmly._

"_Yeah?" Naruto asked, ready to become defensive. Sasuke looked at him was a mocking smirk._

"_You're not hurt, are ya?" He questioned tauntingly. "Scaredy cat."_

"_Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, ready to fight him._

—

"Standing there, frozen like a scared rabbit." Naruto growled. "No way; you're not the Sasuke _I_ know."

The woman's tongue slid out of her mouth and wrapped around Naruto's shoulders, then around his chest. Both the blonde and the dark-haired boys allowed their eyes to widen as Naruto was lifted up by the strong tongue and held above the reptile's head, near to the woman holding him there. He began to kick and flail about in disgust.

"Argh! Hey! Disgusting!" He complained as he tried to get out of the woman's hold. "Put me down, you freak! Let me go before I yank this tongue out of your head!" The boy cried. His threats fell on deaf ears as the woman pulled him closer by bringing her tongue into her mouth and she held him two arm lengths away from her.

'_Extraordinary.'_ She thought in glee. _'The nine tailed brat lives.'_ The woman noted as she made a seal with her hands and brought Naruto closer until they were face-to-face. "I see. When your anger is roused, some of the nine tailed fox's chakra is released." She stated as she held her hand near her waist with the palm facing Naruto. Purple flames lit on her fingertips.

"Let go!" Naruto continued, but she ignored him.

"What an interesting childhood you must've had." She mused as her tongue lifted his jumper a little so that she could see the seal around his bellybutton. "The spell that seals him in has appeared on your skin. Gogyo Fuin!" She called, slamming her hand onto Naruto's stomach.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto cried out in pain. Smoke rose from the contact and, when she pulled away, spirals appeared around the seal to strengthen it. Naruto's eyes flickered between red and blue until the presence of the Kyuubi faded and his eyes remained his natural colour. He stayed still for a moment before going limp.

'_For twelve years, the seal has remained unbroken.'_ The woman noted to herself. _'Soon the demon's chakra and the boy's will be as one. But, for now, he's just in my way.'_ She realised as she reached into Naruto's hip pouch and pulled out the Heaven scroll. Sasuke just stood still in shock.

"Get away from Naruto-kun, you filthy, child molester." A girl's voice growled. The woman turned her head in the direction of the voice, only to see Sakura. She was bleeding all over and her right arm was around her waist, her hand clutching her left hip. Her teeth were gritted and a scowl was prominent on her face.

"I was going to let him go anyway." The woman hummed as she threw Naruto towards Sakura. She caught him and gently set him down on the branch, then turned to Sasuke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! He could have died!" She screamed in his direction. "He may not be the best ninja out there, but at least he's actually doing something! Not you, though! Coward!" The girl accused as a tear escaped her eye. "He could have died!" She repeated, sinking down next to Naruto and grasping his hand in hers. "You're the _foolish_ one!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he flinched as he remembered another who called him 'foolish' before Sakura.

—

"_Foolish little brother." A man with red eyes said. "You can't kill me. Your hate's not strong enough. __**You're**__ not strong enough. Your life is too precious to you. So run. That's right. Run away. And live in the shame."_

—

"No!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes turning into the Sharingan.

'_Hm. It's happened at last.'_ The woman mused._ 'His Uchiha blood has finally come to a boil.'_

"Stupid Uchiha." Sakura muttered with a glare, seeing that he only chose the moment she insulted him to fight back.

'_I think I'll play with him a while.'_ The woman hummed. _'I'll see the full extent of his power.'_ She laughed as her snake disappeared with a gust of wind and a great cloud of smoke. Sakura lowered herself onto Naruto's chest to avoid it hurting her eyes. Sasuke, on the other hand, just remained still and glared at the woman with the long tongue.

The Sharingan Revived: Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu

"I knew it. It's finally happened. His Uchiha blood has come to a boil." The woman noted as she and Sasuke both sank into a battle stance. "I think I'll play with him a while and learn the full extent of his powers."

'_All I've cared about was surviving in order to defeat my brother.'_ Sasuke thought as he pulled out a kunai and put it in his mouth. _'What a fool I've been. I see the truth now. Naruto, Sakura. If I haven't got the courage to face this demon, how can I ever hope to have enough courage to face __**him**__?'_ He asked himself.

Sasuke charged as fast as he could towards the woman, but all she did was spread her arms and send a powerful gust of wind towards him. The Uchiha leapt upwards to dodge it and she looked up to where he was as he twisted in the air, throwing kunai at her at top speed. She dodged with ease, causing Sasuke to cry out in frustration.

He kicked off of the trunk of a tree and sped towards her with the intent of engaging the woman in a taijutsu match. His kick was blocked when she crossed her arms in front of her chest in the shape of a 'X', so he flipped over her and twisted his body to land behind her on the branch with his legs spread to move again.

She pushed off of the branch and ran towards Sasuke; only she slowed her speed a little. Sasuke jumped up and tried to kick her again, but she blocked. He lowered himself and tried to sweep her feet out from under her and she jumped, but landed in enough time to block his punch. The Uchiha then spun his chest low and aimed a high kick at her face, but she shifted back and dodged while following through with a punch to his face.

The Uchiha caught her fist batted it away, and then dodged to avoid a kick at his shoulder. She then jumped up and landed behind Sasuke, who turned and saw her moving again. Then, with speed that would make Maito Gai jealous, the woman ran around Sasuke, pushing off branches and jumped up, leaving only a trail of smoke to tell of her travel path.

'_I can see.'_ Sasuke realised as he tracked every quick move. He jumped out of the way when the woman hit the area he was and shattered the branch. _'I can see!'_ He cheered, preparing his jutsu. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke shot three fireballs from his mouth at the place he saw the woman last. Then, not wasting any time, he stopped and breathed fire in a steady stream passed his lips.

She managed to not get burnt and, when Sasuke stopped his jutsu, she ran forwards so fast that the branch cracked under her. The woman then swiped a fist at Sasuke, but he jumped back to avoid it. He landed a few feet away from her and reassumed his stance, taking a deep breath to steady himself. The woman just looked at him with a smile.

'_You're good.'_ She admitted. _'You anticipate my attacks and your aim is true.'_ Her eyes narrowed._ 'You can __**see**__ my moves, can't you?'_ The woman realised.

—

Anko jumped off of a branch and pushed herself forwards, avoiding anything that would slow her down. She jumped up and used her hands to flip over and land on her feet on a sturdy branch. The woman then looked to the west.

'_The sun's going down.'_ She noticed. _'I've gotta find him soon. My odds are bad enough as it is. They'll only get worse in the dark. Still…why __**now**__? What the hell could he be after? No matter. He's here. Time to finish this.'_

She took one last look at the setting sun and leapt off once again.

—

The woman turned and slammed her fists on the thick branch, sending a gust of air at Sasuke. He skilfully twisted himself to avoid the blow by jumping up onto one branch and then flipping back onto another. The air hit the branches he jumped from and split them from the tree. Sasuke jumped up and used chakra to push off of a branch above him, falling towards the woman.

Sasuke grabbed her around the waist and she joined his decent at top speed, only she had her head facing the ground while Sasuke's head was pointed up. She yelled out as they moved downwards, towards a sturdy branch. The Uchiha noticed this too and held tighter, wrapping his legs around her chest as they landed heavily. Her head slammed into the branch. She shook and her eyes widened as her teeth clenched and her body went ridged and stiff.

Her arms fell limply around her head and Sasuke's hardened face relaxed a bit as he let go and jumped back. The woman's legs fell as well and Sasuke's shoulders became less tense. However, then the woman began to shift and that creepy smile worked its way back onto her face. She melted into a pile of mud and Sasuke realised his error too late.

"Kawarimi!" He yelled. A kunai sped passed him and sliced his cheek, giving him a cut identical to Naruto's. More kunai hit the tree as Sasuke preformed a back flip to dodge. He leapt over the side of the branch and pulled out clear-wire, using it to swing himself onto another branch. This turned out to be a bad idea when the woman appeared in front of him and punched him between the eyes.

Due to the surprise speed of the attack, Sasuke was behind the fight and unable to dodge a hit to the stomach, causing him to double over and leave a gap for another hit to his shoulder. A knee connected with his gut, sending him back, only to land heavily a few feet away from his stronger and more experienced opponent.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called, lifting Naruto in her arms and moving to the branch next to the one Sasuke was fighting on encase he called for her, or desperately needed her.

"What a disappointment you turned out to be." The woman said in a tone that clearly showed boredom. "Your ancestors weep. The Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Silly little worm." She insulted. Sasuke opened his eyes in just enough time to see the three small bombs he had placed on the back of the woman's clothing to explode, sending her to her knees with a cry of surprise.

Sasuke jumped up and away from the woman while Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. In her mind, it was just typical for Sasuke to make a move like that. Meanwhile, Sasuke threw shuriken with wire attached to them around the woman. He held two wires in his left hand, two in his right and two in between his teeth. Using the wires, he controlled the shuriken so that they moved around the tree.

"Incredible." The woman remarked. "It's a Sharingan windmill second attack." She realised. The wires tightened at the shuriken landed in the trunk of the tree, tying the woman tightly to the trunk. When she was securely tied there, Sasuke preformed a short series of hand seals.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" He called. Flames came out of his mouth and set the wires on fire. The flames quickly travelled up and surrounded the woman in their heat and scorching tongues. She cried out in immense pain.

The Uchiha released the flame and rested his hands on his knees, panting at the effort he had put into that fight. Pulling Naruto up and over her shoulder, Sakura jumped across the gap between the branches and landed next to Sasuke, putting Naruto down gently as she did so.

"Good job, Sasuke." She said, not looking at him. Sasuke grunted and looked at her eyes.

"Where _were_ you?" He asked.

"Huh?" She voiced, looking at him.

"You disappeared after the explosion." He began. "Naruto could have died when he went out looking for you. _I_ almost died because you weren't here to help and, more importantly, _you_ could've died because you worked too long with Naruto on your training and not enough time building up teamwork skills with me. If we had trained together more, then we could have beaten the ninja who set the bomb before he even had a chance to lose the Henge."

"Me? What about _you_?!" Sakura yelled. "If you actually accepted Naruto as a team mate within the first _week_ of becoming Genin, we might have been able to build up our teamwork _together_. Me, you _and_ Naruto."

"Why is it always about _Naruto_?!" Sasuke shouted at her, causing the pinkette to step back in surprise.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"You're always talking about Naruto. When we actually _did_ train together, you always wanted to try a technique that you had done before with _Naruto_. When the three of us are training with Kakashi, you refuse to pay any attention to me and focus on _Naruto_. When I ask you out, you're busy, but you're _never_ too busy to go out with _Naruto_." He counted off.

"You are such a spoiled brat!" Sakura yelled. "Naruto and I have more in common that you could even imagine. We were both ignored and abused, by _everyone_ around us. Naruto had it worse than me, I can admit that, but at one point you had a loving family."

"They never loved me!" Sasuke cried.

"Your mother!" Sakura said quickly. "I know from talk around Konoha that your mother loved you. Your f…father. He may not have paid much attention to you, but when he did his attention was all on _you_ and that was because he was proud of you when you accomplished something."

"Your parents were probably the same." He muttered, glaring at her.

"No! My mother was killed because she didn't inherit the bloodline trait and my father…he only saw me as a tool. I wasn't his daughter. I was a weapon that he could use against his enemies. Why do you think I ran away from Yukigakure and came here? Because I was from one big, _happy_ family?" She asked. 

"Your friends love you." Sasuke pointed out with a glare. "And so does your brother."

"I know. And it nearly got them killed." She laughed humourlessly.

"Is that why you're so afraid to get close to people?" Sasuke asked. The pinkette was silent. "Well?"

"You want the truth?" Sakura asked. "Yes. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if I get too close to someone, they'll get hurt. It was a chance I took with Hinata-chan, but there were _so_ many precautions with that friendship that I can't even name them all."

"And Naruto?"

"Naruto…he's not a friend. But, I wouldn't say he's less that a friend. I'm confused as to where Naruto is on my acceptance scale." Sakura admitted.

"And…me?"

"You…You're just a team mate." She shook her head. "A selfish, big-headed, egotistical team mate that needs his opinion of himself straightened out…and that's all. I don't think of you as a friend, or something more…you're just…Uchiha Sasuke, team mate."

Before he could say anything more, the Grass ninja broke free from her bind and stumbled forwards slightly. Part of her face, around her left eye, seemed to be peeling off. She preformed a hand seal and Sasuke and Sakura flinched in pain.

"No…impossible." Sasuke muttered.

"Such mastery of the Sharingan at such a young age. You're a true Uchiha after all." She mused, but as soon as she said 'mastery', her voice seemed to deepen into that of a man's. "Yes, you'll do nicely." He mused, revealing his Hatei-ate, which now displayed the symbol for Sound.

"AHHHHH!" Sasuke roared, trying to break the genjutsu on himself.

"You are defiantly _his_ brother." The man mused. "If anything, your eyes are even keener than Itachi's."

"Who are you?!" Sasuke demanded. "What do you want?!" The man chuckled and flipped team seven's Heaven scroll in his hand.

"I believe that dearest Sakura-chan could give you that small piece of information. Am I right…Saku-chan?" He mused.

"Don't call me that, you sick, twisted basterd." Sakura hissed at him.

"Now, now, don't keep names to yourself." He scolded, frowning at the pinkette. Sakura's eyes widened and she grabbed her right shoulder, screaming in pain. The man stopped frowning and she gasped in air greedily.

"You bast—AHHHHHHH!" She screamed again, still clutching her shoulder.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked in concern.

"His name…is Orochi…Orochimaru." She panted with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Very good, Saku-chan." Orochimaru smiled. "But…as to what I want, that will have to wait until we meet again, which wont happen until you finish this test with the best score at all." He stated, singeing the scroll with green flames.

"The scroll." Sakura muttered, her right arm going limp from the pain in her shoulder.

"First, you'll have to defeat the Sound ninja who serve me." Orochimaru told them.

"Who-?"

"Long-hair, Fur-back and Butt-grabber." Sakura growled, interrupting Sasuke as she did so. He still looked a bit puzzled. "I only know that Butt-grabber's name is Zaku. As for Long-hair and Fur-back, your guess is as good as mine."

"Butt-grabber?" Orochimaru echoed. "I must have a little chat with Zaku soon."

"Great! Why don't you go and have that chat?" Sakura suggested in mock politeness. "If we never see you again, it'll be too soon!" She yelled.

"Oh, but Sasuke-kun and I _will_ meet again." Orochimaru promised, using a jutsu to elongate his neck. He moved his head forwards and bit Sasuke on the neck, causing Sakura's eyes to widen.

"No!" She called, but it was too late.

Orochimaru pulled his teeth out, leaving marks and dots of blood. He pulling his head back to his body and his neck shrunk back to its normal size. Near the bite, three tomoe appeared, circling each other. Sasuke grabbed the mark in pain ad Sakura scowled at Orochimaru. The man just smirked at her.

"Now you might have someone to talk to about the pain…if he lives that long." Orochimaru mused.

"You basterd!" She yelled. "Why did you do that to him?!"

"I just gave him a little parting gift." Orochimaru grinned. "Pretty soon, Sasuke will seek me out. The desire of my power. Just like you, ne, Sakura-chan?" He chuckled as the girl glared. "In the meantime, I enjoyed the demonstration of the powers he already possesses and I have _most_ enjoyed seeing you again, Saku-chan." He said as he sunk into the branch of the tree he was standing on.

Sasuke screamed out in pain, such pain that Sakura understood. She kneeled next to him and rubbed his back, keeping her eyes on Naruto the whole time. Neither would be in any condition to fight for at least one day; that much she knew. The Uchiha cried out in pain again and Sakura pulled him to her, letting him squeeze her hand. Her eyebrows twitched when she remembered how she had gone to the Akatsuki in the first place.

—

"_Hello, little girl." A man with long black hair, pale skin and purple markings around his eyes said with a smile. Sakura frowned at him._

"_Who are you?" She asked, sinking into a fighting position. The man just seemed amused by this._

"_My name is Orochimaru. I am a part of the Akatsuki, and I was sent by my Leader to talk to you." He informed her. "You are Haruno Sakura, correct?"_

"_I am, Orochimaru-san." She replied, dropping her stance and standing casually in front of him._

"_Foolish." He commented, jumping forwards and biting the nine-year-old on the neck. He pulled back and a seal appeared on the right side of her neck, near her shoulder. It was black and shaped like three tomoe circling each other._

"_What did you do to me?!" She screamed, holding her neck in pain._

"_It's a simple Curse seal. The Heaven seal, to be precise. Come and find me when you're ready, Saku-chan."_

—

_Sakura was training in the woods when three rogue ninja attacked her with grins on their faces. She threw kunai at them, but when one hit her across the face with a shuriken, something took over. A red design that looked like flaming petals in the wind spread over her body and dulled into black. Once they had spread, her eyes became slit like a snake's and she became stronger than she usually was._

—

"_I'm looking for Orochimaru." Sakura said, fidgeting with the high-collared jackets that hid the mark on her neck. The redhead in front of her sighed and gestured for her to follow him._

"_I am Sasori. I assume that you're Haruno Sakura." He stated casually._

"_I am." Sakura confirmed._

"_Welcome to Akatsuki."_

—

"_Orochimaru, how do I gain partial control over her?" The Akatsuki leader asked Orochimaru as both men watched her train with Itachi._

"_Simple. Place a third of your chakra into the seal. It will remain the same, but you shall have an equal amount of control over her as I do."_

—

"_She's coming with me." Orochimaru grinned as he fought his way out of the Akatsuki base with a nine-year-old child in his arms._

"_She's staying!" Kisame yelled, swinging his Samehada at the snake sanin. Orochimaru was forced to let Sakura go and run._

—

"Don't worry, Sasuke. The pain will be gone soon enough." She whispered to the Uchiha. As soon as he heard her soothing voice, Sasuke went limp in her arms.

[--

Orochimaru rose from a branch and straightened himself up, that same sadistic grin still plastered on his face.

[--

Anko ran through the forest as quickly as she could.

'_I can feel him.'_ She thought to herself.

[--

The snake contractor cracked his neck from side to side, his eyes closed and his skin peeling.

[--

She jumped off of one branch and kicked off another.

[--

He sunk into the trunk of another tree.

[--

'_He's somewhere close.'_ Anko realised as she jumped down and kicked off another tree branch. She jumped forwards and saw him, half way into a tree trunk. Orochimaru opened his eyes and looked at the woman as she landed and took a few steps forwards, stopping metres in front of him. He chuckled.

"Well, well, Anko-chan. It's been a while." He mused. "It seems like I'm running into so many old faces today."

"This is no time to reminisce. You're an S-class criminal." She said to him in a firm tone. "You've got to be taken down and it's only fitting that I'm the one to do it." She told him as senbon came out of her sleeve and she held them in between her fingers. "Because, after all, you're the one who taught me everything I know. Right, sensei?"

"Not quite." Orochimaru stated. She threw one of the four senbon at him with a grunt of effort, but he countered by launching his tongue at her. Anko jumped and avoided it, and it crashed through the branch she was standing on. She stuck to a trunk with her chakra, but was too slow to dodge his tongue and he grabbed her wrist, causing her to drop the remaining three senbon. Orochimaru then pulled her off of the branch, but she managed to get a grip on the branch below before he could pull her towards him.

"Sen'eijashu!" Anko called, holding her hand with her fingers pointed right at him.

Four green snakes came out of her sleeve and twisted around her arm before leaping towards Orochimaru, still with the end of their bodies in her sleeve. The snakes latched onto the areas around where Orochimaru had situated himself and Anko tugged her arm.

"Come out of there!" She yelled, pulling the trunk apart and thus bringing Orochimaru into the open.

He was pulled towards her and she moved her arms so that the snakes slammed him into the trunk behind her. She then called the snakes back into her sleeve and held his hand to the wood, plunging a kunai to hold him there, but the kunai went through her own hand as well. Anko flinched and took a deep breath with Orochimaru eyed her curiously.

"Heh…I gotcha." She muttered. "Now then, let me just borrow your left hand." The woman said, taking up his free hand. Her index and little fingers pointed upwards while his fingers curled around her knuckles and his visible eye widened.

'_That hand sign…'_ He realised, allowing his eye to widen before he narrowed it in Anko's direction.

"Right." She smirked. "It's over. You and I are going to die here." Anko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _'Sojasosai no Jutsu.'_ She thought, not even being able to say it out loud. Upon hearing Orochimaru chuckle, her eyes widened.

"I'm afraid you'll die alone, Anko-chan." He mused, rising from the branch behind her. She turned slowly to look at him as he pulled off the melted face, revealing his own pale skin. "That's right…Kawarimi." The man said as the sun began to set. Anko, in a panic, looked to the body she was holding, only to see it melt into a pile of mud.

"No." She whispered. Orochimaru laughed sadistically as Anko's hopes melted away with the substitution, and she looked down with her eyes closed.

"Of course. You're one of the elite now." Orochimaru stated. "A righteous warrior. How naughty of you to be using the forbidden jutsu I taught to you." He continued as he stepped closer to her. Anko pulled the kunai out of her hand and turned around, throwing the weapon at him. He just caught it between his middle and index fingers. "It won't work on me, Anko-chan." He used one hand to use the tiger seal and Anko froze in pain while Orochimaru dropped her kunai and calmly walked over to her.

"Why are you here?" She asked through laboured breaths.

"I'm disappointed. I expected a friendlier reception after all this time. Not even _dearest_ Sakura-_chan_ greeted me nicely." He chuckled.

'_The girl with pink hair?'_ Anko thought curiously. "Don't tell me, you've come to assassinate Sandaime Hokage-sama." She guessed.

"No, not yet. I don't have quite enough followers to attempt that." Her former sensei said with a shake of his head. "But, I've heard such good things about this village that I thought I might want to make it mine."

"Argh." Anko groaned, holding her neck and sinking to her knees in pain while sweat trickled down her face. Orochimaru didn't seem at all phased by her hurting, but rather that he was entertained.

"Aw, it's the mark, isn't it? Saku-chan handled it so much better than you ever could." He remarked with a grin. "Saku-chan got hers when she was nine and I put that same mark on a young man a little while ago. He's a very promising prospect and no one should steal him away from me like a certain group did with Saku-chan."

"You haven't changed, I see." Anko spat. "He'll _die_ before he serves you!"

"Very possibly." Orochimaru chuckled. "I'd say the odds are…one in ten against him. The kid may survive, as you and Saku-chan did."

"Sounds like you want him badly, huh?" She commented. The woman gasped when Orochimaru placed his hand on her cheek and rubbed it gently.

"Ah…jealous." He smirked, still rubbing her cheek. "Is that it? You can't forgive me, can you? For using you and then tossing you aside." The man stopped rubbing her cheek and removed his hand. "In some way, the boy has even more potential than you had. You see, he's inherited the sublime abilities of the Uchiha clan. And his physical condition is excellent. He might just be heir I'm looking for. At the very least, he makes things interesting." He said, standing up. "Whatever happens, make sure no one stops the exams early. Three of my followers are also candidates. I look forward to seeing how they do." He stated, walking away.

"Wait!" Anko called. Orochimaru stopped. "What about the girl? Sakura, you said her name was." She said. The snake-nin smiled at the mention of her name.

"Unlike you, she hated me from the start." Orochimaru told her. "The potential she has greatly outweighs both you _and_ the Uchiha, but she has stronger loyalties and I am not the only one controlling her." He said, disappearing in a purple flame.

[--

Near a stream, team Gai were thinking. Neji was sat a little way from his team while Tenten leaned on a rock and Lee sat near to the river, all of them wondering how to get a scroll while taking a rest with food and drink.

"Alright." Neji began. "That's enough resting up, I think." He stated, moving a kunai between his fingers. "The other teams will be calling it a day soon, and that means that it will be time to strike. You know the plan, right? We split up and fan out. Whatever happens, whether we make contact with another team or not, we meet up back here in _this_ spot." He declared, throwing down his kunai so it stuck into the ground. "Got it?"

"No sweat." Tenten sighed. _'I hope I meet up with that pink haired girl sometime. In this round or the next, I don't care. Just as long as I get to fight her.'_

"Roger." Lee replied, saluting the Hyuuga boy and standing up while Tenten straightened herself out too.

"Alright then." He said, raising his hand. "Let's move!"

The ninja of team Gai all leapt away in separate directions.

[--

Sakura kneeled in between Naruto and Sasuke's forms, looking between the two with worry. She had moved them into a large gap where a few thick roots were above the ground for shelter and was now fretting about what she had to do. Sasuke groaned and she felt his forehead, letting go of a breath of relief when he settled.

"At least he can't feel too much pain while he's unconscious." Sakura sighed, removing her hand and turning to Naruto. "Oh man, now I wish I paid more attention to my brother when he tried to teach me medic-nin stuff. I they've both got high fevers…and…I'm so tired. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut and not aggravated that snake basterd into using my Seal against me."

[--

'_I've wasted enough time. Somebody's got to tell Hokage-sama.'_ Anko thought as she bandaged her hand. She got up and began walking, but stopped in front of a bush. Her eyes narrowed when a tiger growled at her from inside the bush. Another two came at her from either side and the three giant tigers surrounded her.

"Guh, I don't have time for this." She complained. Her neck began throbbing and one of the tigers roared before falling down. The other two roared in pain and began to fall as well. "Wha…it's a paralysis jutsu.

"So, there you are, Anko-san." An ANBU black-op called from a tree not too far from her. She looked up at him and his partner. The two jumped over to her, one landing on the rock behind Anko and one on the ground in front of her.

"Man, you ANBU goons took your time getting here, didn't you?" Anko said in an unimpressed and slightly irritated tone.

"Well there's no need to get snippy." The one behind her stated. Before she could reply, the pain in her neck flared up again and she stumbled back.

"ARGH!" She screamed, falling to her knees and digging her fingers into the mark on her neck. The ANBU behind her jumped down.

"Anko-san, are you alright?" He asked. "What is it? Huh?" He said, seeing the mark on her neck. "That curse mark appeared…but, then…that means…Orochimaru." He realised.

"What, here? No." His partner disagreed.

"Hurry, let's get you up." The first ANBU stated, hoisting Anko up by putting one of her arms over his shoulders. "We'll carry you to Hokage-sama if we have to."

"No!" Anko panicked. "No…take me to the tower."

"What're you taking about?" The second ANBU asked as if she were crazy, which he thought she was. "You know that we have to raise the alarm at the first sign of Orochimaru. It's more important than the Chunin exams."

"I know, but…" She tried to find an excuse, but none came to mind. "Well, alright then. Summon Hokage-sama to the tower. I'll explain everything there."

[--

The three Sound Genin looked down from a tree branch towards Sakura, who was half asleep from tiredness and injuries. They knew that she wouldn't be able to fight up to her full standards, just as their master had planned when he fought with team seven previously. Give her enough pain to weaken her, but not to kill her.

"Found you." Dosu said with a chuckle. "Alright, just as Orochimaru-sama ordered. We strike at daybreak, to get a little more of a challenge out of that pink-haired one."

"Her name is _Sakura_." Zaku muttered, looking away from his team for a moment as he looked down at the weakened pinkette. _'Why does it hurt to see her like that?'_

"Remember, our target is the Uchiha." Dosu reminded them.

"Yeah, but if the other two get in our way, we take them out, right?" Kin asked snootily. Zaku frowned at her.

"The blonde, yes. Pinky, no. Orochimaru-sama was clear to tell us not to anger her too much while she has over half her chakra. She'll either use her kekkei genkai on us or something much worse which he didn't specify." Dosu told her with a huff.

"Her _name_ is _Sakura_." Zaku muttered again.

"Something to add, Zaku?" Kin questioned him when she saw that he was whispering to himself.

"Nothing at all." Zaku said, glaring slightly at the dark-haired girl.


	17. Protection and Consequences

Chapter Seventeen

Bushy Brow's Pledge: Undying Love and Protection

Sakura reached up and took a damp piece of cloth that was hanging over a branch above her head. She had been caring for Naruto and Sasuke by trying to keep their fevers down for a few hours now. Putting the cloth on her leg, she folded it and then held it in her hand as she poured a bit of cold water on it. She then wrung it out until all the excess water was off and took the old cloth off of Sasuke's forehead, replacing it with the newly dampened one.

The pinkette stood up and hung the old cloth over the branch in place of the other one and sighed. She repeated the process with Naruto, but this time biting her lip and mentally willing him to wake up and lighten her mood in that way that only Naruto knew how. But she knew that that wouldn't happen if she didn't take proper care of him.

'_I feel bad for Sasuke.'_ Sakura thought.

'_**Why?'**_ Inner asked, crossing her arms.

'_His seal probably hurts more than mine. I mean, the one Orochimaru gave me only gave me power once and after that it was just there to make sure I obeyed the leader. Really, it's more of a dog collar than a curse seal. Sasuke's will give him power, bring him pain and most likely drive him to seeking out Orochi-basterd.'_ She remarked.

'_**Oh yeah…what a useless curse seal. They just use it to keep me in line. Well, it's not like we need the power boost.'**_ Inner grinned at her own joke.

'_Yet…you know what'll happen to us soon. I've been using the Kanjoo jiyuu too much and…'_ The pinkette trailed off, not willing to finish that thought. Her head bobbed up and down. She was tired and the fact that her seal still stung wasn't helping.

'_**Don't fall asleep! If you do, who will protect Sasuke and Naruto-kun?! Shannaro!'**_ Her second soul scolded. It was no use as Sakura's eyes slid closed.

—

_Naruto sat up with a yawn and a stretch, waking Sakura in the loudness of his wakening. She looked at the blonde and grinned. Sasuke was the next to rise, and he rubbed his head. The cloths that she had placed on their foreheads were now in their laps and their Hatei-ates were still next to her leg._

"_Sakura-can! Did you look after us?" Naruto asked with a happy smile on his face. Sakura nodded._

"_Arigatou." Sasuke muttered. He and Naruto fell into a silent conversation, which Sakura couldn't quite hear. She then saw something in the bush and her eyes widened._

"_You'll soon know what it's like to be prey…with me as your predator!" He promised, his neck extending as his head soared towards them. The head soon became a snake and Sakura looked quickly back to her team. She tried to warn them, but nothing came out of her mouth. She tried again, and still was only met with silence._

'My voice! I can't talk!'_ She panicked. _'All of our voices are gone!'_ The pinkette realised when she couldn't hear Naruto and Sasuke's words of conversation. The snake drew nearer and nearer. His head hovered over the boys. He opened his mouth and then-_

—

Sakura's eyes snapped open with a gasp as she looked around, searching for any signs of reality within her nightmare. None were there and she sighed in relief. She quickly checked the cloths on Naruto and Sasuke's foreheads, seeing that they needed changing. This time, she changed Naruto's first and then Sasuke's. Looking up, she noticed the sun shining through the clouds.

'_I can't believe it's daytime already.'_ She frowned. Something behind her made a bush rustle and her head snapped in that direction. Taking out a kunai, the ex-Snow ninja held it tightly and her enemy moved into view to reveal…a squirrel. It came closer and closer and Sakura frowned, throwing the kunai at it anyway.

'_**WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!' **_Inner screamed as the petrified squirrel ran away from her.

'_It shouldn't have snuck up on me. Stupid squirrel.'_ Sakura scowled.

[--

"And I thought for sure that would work." Zaku sighed, seeing the squirrel run away. "Do you think she saw the paper bomb we put on it?" He smirked.

"Possible, but I believe it was another reason." Dosu mused.

"What're you thinking?" The dark-haired Oto-nin asked.

"I'm _thinking_ that we should get closer and find out." He replied, pulling down a branch to get a good look at Sakura. "Will that be a problem?"

"No! I told you, I only find her interesting. It should be fun to fight someone who uses three fighting styles." Zaku grinned.

"Three?" Kin echoed, flipping her hair over she shoulder.

"The Haruno style, the Yuki style and the Konoha style." Dosu answered for his comrade. "Now, let's get going." He chuckled.

[--

Lee jumped from branch to branch, performing flips and kicking off hard to keep a steady pace. A rustle sounded below him and, being the curious ninja he was, he looked down at the noise-maker. Leaves were falling gently from when he had landed and caused them to fall. Looking at them, Lee grew determined.

'_Okay! If I can catch all twenty of those leaves before they hit the ground, then Sakura-san will fall in love with me!'_ He thought with a large blush spreading across his cheeks and nose. _'But, if I cannot, then she will never return my feelings. That is the challenge that I am going to give myself. I will show her I am worthy!'_

With a fire of determination lit in his eyes, Lee jumped off of the branch and began grabbing the leaves quickly, counting off the amount in his head as he did. One, two, three, four…five, six, seven, eight. He continued falling at a great speed, catching the leaves.

'_YES! I am going to get them all!'_ He cheered. However, before he could grab the last leaf, his back hit a thick branch. Lee's eyes watered with pain. _'Nine…teen…'_ The boy counted, looking at the last leaf.

"One left!" He cried, jumping down. Just before he could grasp it, Lee saw a squirrel with its back on fire. He dove towards it and picked it up, pulling the tag off of its back. "That was close." He acknowledged, crushing the tag in his hand. "This paper bomb explodes after a certain amount of time. Who would do such an awful thing?"

The last leaf lay forgotten on the forest floor.

[--

Neji walked along the forest floor, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of another team. He paused, feeling a chakra and sighed, shaking his head slightly. The Hyuuga looked over to the bush on his right and his eyes narrowed.

Crouched behind the bush, team ten—Ino, Shikamaru and Choji—held their breath, waiting for him to pass. If you looked carefully enough, you could see Ino trying her best not to fan-out and fawn over the Hyuuga boy with long, coffee coloured hair.

"Alright." Neji sighed. "Stop hiding and come out." He called. Team ten all froze as their eyes widened.

"Dude, how could he have seen us? We hid so fast!" Ino asked in shock with her eyes still wide and her voice low.

"What a drag. Now that this guy's found us out, this is gonna be such a pain." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome."

"No big deal." Ino assured. "Our hide and hang out strategy didn't work, so we'll just use strategy number two." She told them.

"_Whaaat_? Are you serious, Ino?" Choji hissed.

"You got a problem with that? Trust me, this plan can't fail." She told them confidently.

"Well, what've we got to lose?" Shikamaru sighed.

Team ten ran out of the bush with stars in their eyes, looking at Neji as he turned. Ino was giggling and Choji and Shikamaru looked like they were about to faint. Only the Yamanaka seemed to be acting normally though, since she was a born fangirl.

"Oh, wow." She gushed. "Imagine running into last year's number one rookie, Hyuuga Neji, out here!"

"Can I have your autograph?" Shikamaru asked, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Ugh, it's you guys." He groaned, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Yeah!" Ino smiled, reaching up to her hair band. _'Strategy two; where you fall head-over-heals in love with my beauty.'_ She thought, undoing her hair band and letting her blonde locks loose. "Hi there. I've been wanting to meet you for a _really_ long time, Neji. So…hi." She cooed.

"Get lost." Neji said bluntly, turning and walking away.

'_WHAT?!'_ Ino roared mentally. _'He should have been pulled over by my beauty! Why didn't that work?! URGH! It just makes me so angry! I could hit something!'_ She screamed, pumping her fists towards Neji's retreating back and clenching her teeth.

"Did you just raise your fists to me?" Neji asked, stopping but not turning around. "Does that mean you wanna fight?" He questioned. Ino stiffened and immediately lowered her arms to her sides.

"No…no way! Course not!" She assured, rubbing the back of her head.

"Che. Go away." He said, looking over his shoulder at them. "Even if I _was_ to steal a scroll from you cowardly wimps, everybody would just laugh at me for it."

"Sounds good to me!" Ino cried as she, Shikamaru and Choji ran and jumped through a bush to get away.

"Hm. They scurry off like cockroaches." Neji scoffed.

[--

'_Just as I though.'_ Shikamaru sighed mentally as he and the rest of his squad were trying to catch their breath. _'A guy like him wouldn't take a scroll from people like us…unless we turned on him and attacked.'_

"Alright!" Ino yelled, standing up and re-doing her hair while smiling fakely. "Let's see if we can find some weaklings!" She laughed, obviously faking it very badly.

"Yeah, well, I doubt we'll find anyone weaker than us." Shikamaru scoffed, rolling his eyes.

[--

Sakura desperately tried to hover more into the woken world than the sleeping one as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her eyes closed, and she snapped them back open, only to have them close again. The guard she kept around herself was wavering and all of the ninja skills were weakening with her exhaustion.

"Some lookout you are. You're half asleep." A man's voice mused from behind her. her eyes widened and she turned, seeing Zaku and his team standing metres away from the kunai she had thrown at the squirrel only moments ago.

"At least you don't have to keep watch anymore." Dosu mused, taking over from Zaku. "What's the point after we've already found you? Now, wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him."

'_Feh, as if. I need him to pass this exam.'_ Sakura scoffed mentally as she reached for her kunai holster. "What do you want here? I mean, what do you _really_ what?! I know that Orochi-basterd-maru is calling the shots from the shadows."

"What?!" Dosu asked, obviously shocked that she knew Orochimaru and that she would call him such a disrespectful name.

"He's already got the curse seal and won't be able to fight properly for a while, so stop being such cowards and come to battle him when he has his strength back!" Sakura yelled.

"What in the world could he be thinking?" Dosu asked himself. "How do _you_ know of the curse seal?" he questioned the pinkette. She stood with a smirk and untied her jumper from around her waist, throwing it to the ground so that it wouldn't get in the way of the fight she knew would ensue.

"Like I should tell you." She scoffed.

"I can't stay quiet after hearing you talk to us like that." Zaku mused with a sadistic grin. "First, I'll kill you, and then I'll kill Sasuke." He stated, jumping towards her.

"Oh, so you know more techniques that Butt-grab no jutsu?" Sakura mocked, building up the remainder of her chakra into storage so that she didn't waste it.

"Wait, Zaku." Dosu warned before Zaku could take another step.

"What? Why?" Zaku question. Dosu said nothing, but walked forwards towards Sakura. He put his hand on the ground and smirked behind the bandages that covered his mouth.

"It's so obvious." He mused. "This is the colour of dirt that's recently been dug up and this kind of grass doesn't grow in a place like this." Dosu stated, looking at Sakura for some kind of reaction. She didn't move and her face remained neutral. "You know, if you're going to lay a trap, there's no point unless you make sure it's actually hidden."

"I'll remember that." Sakura smirked as he lifted the clump of fake grass she had set over her trap.

"Ha! You're just a joke. You threw that kunai so that the squirrel wouldn't spring the trap you set." Zaku boasted, proud of his 'amazing intellect'.

"Sure…let's go with that." She sweat dropped.

"Now, we kill her." Dosu stated, tilting his head. The three Sound-nin jumped towards Sakura, who smirked and cut the wire on her right with a kunai.

"A log!" Zaku called when a very large log fell from the canopy above their head, poised to crush them into the ground.

"She also laid a trap above? Watch out!" Dosu called as the log drew nearer to him and his squad. "Nice try, girl." He mused, placing his hand on the log and forming the tiger seal with his free hand. The log burst into nothing but a shower of splinters and the ninja continued to jump at her.

"Crap." She cursed, holding the kunai in front of her to defend herself.

"Clearly the rumours about you being strong were all false. You have no talent at all." Dosu smirked.

"Konoha Senpu!" She heard a voice chime loudly as a blur of green and black jumped in the middle of the group of Oto-nin and kicked them away from Sakura. They all moved back, bracing their landings and standing on their feet, looking more than a little agitated.

"What the-?" Sakura whispered when the blur landed in front of her in a taijutsu stand. She would recognise those spandex anywhere. "Lee-san?"

"It looks to me like you are the ones who need to make more of an effort, Otogakure ninja." Lee noticed as he stood firm with the squirrel on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Dosu asked, trying to calm his anger.

"I am the handsome devil of the Leaf Village, Konohagakure…and my name is Rock Lee." He replied.

'_Handsome…devil?'_ Sakura asked herself with a sweat drop.

'_**RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! IT'S HERE! RUN!'**_ Inner freaked when she saw Lee land in front of Sakura.

"Wh…What are _you_ doing here, Lee-san?" Sakura asked, deciding to try her best not to do as Inner suggested.

"I will always appear. Anytime and anywhere you are in trouble or in need of assistance, Sakura-san." Lee replied, rubbing the squirrel's chin gently and with a smile. "It is all thanks to you, little one. And now it is time for you to run along." He cooed, putting the squirrel down. The squirrel, as if understanding what was said, ran and lay beside Naruto, who was the furthest from Sakura.

'_**That fuzzy **__**rat**__** led him here?! I'll kill it!'**_ Inner roared.

"But, Lee-san, we're enemies during this test." Sakura frowned, trying to find an ulterior motive behind his heroic words.

"Sakura-san, I already told you…I will protect you until I die." He told her as she looked at him in surprise.

—

"_My name is Rock Lee." He stated proudly. "You are Sakura, right?"_

"_How…How do you know my name?" She asked suspiciously. Lee gave her a 'thumbs up' and grinned, closing one eye in a wink with his blush still in place, thus assuming the full 'good-guy' pose._

"_Please be my girlfriend!" He asked, not noticing the two glares he was getting from her team. "I vow to protect you with my life." The boy added as his tooth pinged._

—

"Yes…thanks…Rock Lee." She said calmly, nodding her head.

'_Yes!'_ Lee cheered with water running from his eyes. _'She said yes, Gai-sensei! She said yes!'_

"It looks like I have no choice." Dosu stated, taking out his Earth scroll and holding it in front of him. "Zaku, I'll let you have Sasuke." He allowed, throwing the scroll to his male team mate. "I'll take care of these two." He stated as Lee watched Sakura shakily move her hand to grab a shuriken.

'_It does not look like Sakura-san is in any condition to fight.'_ He noticed when her arm tensed, relaxed and began shaking again.

"The guy with the bushy eyebrows is quite good at taijutsu. Looks like I get to have some fun." Dosu sneered, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his metal-covered arm. He charged towards Lee and all Sakura could do was watch while trying to build her chakra up enough to support her tired body.

She frowned and threw a kunai towards the man, but he dodged and jumped up. Lee also jumped into the air and landed down, sticking him hand into the ground and pulling up a think root. It stopped the Sound-nin from getting any closer to Lee and he was forced to jump back or risk putting himself in a position of vulnerability. Sakura's calculating eyes watched the whole fight with interest.

"I am positive that there is some kind of trick behind your attack." Lee recognised, letting go of the root, but it stayed put. "Therefore, I will not waste my time trying to dodge it."

"Huh?" Dosu grunted in mild surprise.

"After all, I have seen your jutsu before." He stated almost smugly.

"Heh." Zaku laughed in amusement.

'_Woah…maybe Lee is cooler than I give him credit for.'_ Sakura noted.

'_**Do you like him more than Naruto-chan?'**_ Inner asked slyly. Rolling her eyes, Sakura sighed mentally.

'_Of course not.'_ She admitted.

'_**So…you like Naru-chan. Huh?'**_

'_Ye…No…I have no clue.'_ She confessed.

'_Of course, having said that, my odds are still not good as it is three against one. I have to take a chance.'_ He realised. _'One at a time. I will attack each of them with all my might.'_

[--

Back with team ten, Choji was munching on his food in a tree—he's the lookout, by the way—while Ino and Shikamaru stood on the forest floor, waiting for Choji to call down to them about another team or something they would need to react to.

"Oh man!" Ino whined. "There doesn't seem t be _anyone_ around here weaker than us!"

"Not so fast." Shikamaru realised. "I still think that Naruto's team may be weaker than we are." He told her.

"TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW, YOU JERK!" Ino commanded in anger.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru sighed with his brow raised.

"There's no doubt that Naruto's weak and Sakura would probably just ignore us if we came for the scroll, but Sasuke-kun is awesome!" She defended her crush. Shikamaru crossed his arms and frowned.

"Yeah, whatever." He grunted.

"And anyway, I thought you _liked_ Sakura." The blonde scoffed.

"Liking someone like her is too troublesome. I gave up when I realised that it would be too much of a drag to get her to like me back." He sighed, shrugging.

"What about Choji?" Ino asked, eyes wide.

"He's more interested in this other girl, now." Shikamaru told her.

"Well…you still shouldn't be insulting Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried.

"Maybe your precious _Sasuke-kun_ is better in theory than in practice." The boy grunted as Ino growled in anger and he sweat dropped. "Alright, alright, I apologise. I never meant to upset you." He sighed. _'What a total drag. I say one negative thing about Sasuke and I get the evil eye from his number one fan, here.'_

"There is no way Sasuke-kun could lose a battle." Ino finalised, crossing her arms and looking away from Shikamaru. "Ha! But Sakura and Naruto's a different matter! He might be just weak enough for all of us to take down when Sakura's not around." She nodded.

Up his tree, Choji paused in his munching and looked out, squinting his eyes to see the scene not too far away better. His suspicion was confirmed and he yelled down to his feuding team mates loudly.

"Hey! Sasuke's collapsed!" He called. Ino and Shikamaru looked up at him in question. "And Sakura's fighting!" He added.

"What did you say?" Ino asked. She and Shikamaru jumped up and landed on either side of him to get a look. Ino saw what was going on and her eyes narrowed.

[--

"He's late." Tenten sighed as she and Neji stood near the kunai, waiting for Lee. "And he's _never_ late. Lee is always…well…_fanatical_ about being on time. Maybe he ran into the enemy." She gasped. "Do you think…" The girl trailed off as Neji chuckled.

"No, I'm sure he's alright." He opened his eyes and frowned. "But still, we'd better go find him."

"Right." Tenten agreed. They jumped through the trees, keeping an eye out for anything that could lead them to their overly-youthful team mate.

—

_The large, thick tree stump split in half as Lee jumped up and down in joy with waterfall tears coming from his eyes and a large smile on his face, going from ear to ear. Gai was watching him, also grinning at his star pupil's achievement._

"_YES! I did it! I finally mastered the jutsu!" He cheered, still jumping for joy and grinning widely._

"_Come on, that's enough rest! You're wasting your precious youth." Gai scolded Neji and Tenten, who had both paused not too long ago to catch their breath. They were covered in small scratches and looked exhausted while Lee looked as if he could run another seven hundred laps around Konoha. Neji scowled as he looked at his male team mate._

'This jutsu…in the end, only Lee could make it his own.'_ Gai smile as his pupil continued to celebrate._

"_I did it! I actually did it!" He cheered._

"_Lee." Gai called._

"_After all that practice I actually pulled it off!" He yelled, not hearing his sensei call him._

"_Lee!" Gai called a little louder._

"_If I just try hard enough, I can do anything!"_

"_LEE!" Gai bellowed._

"_I can't believe that I really did it!"_

"_**QUIET!**__" He yelled loudly, punching Lee in the cheek. The boy flew back and fell to the ground, getting up with a groan of pain. "Now, listen to your sensei's awesomeness."_

"_Yes, I am ready to hear your amazing wisdom, sir." Lee acknowledged while Neji looked blankly at the two and Tenten's mouth was open wide in shock._

"_This new jutsu, Omote Renge, is now forbidden." Gai told him in all seriousness and without even a hint of joking in his voice. All three of his students gasped._

"_What do you mean, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked desperately. "Why?"_

"_This jutsu, it puts a huge strain on your body's muscles. It's a self-sacrificing technique. Normally, humans only use at least twenty percent of their muscle's strength. If all of the power were to be used, the muscles would disintegrate, so the brain regulation how much power the muscles can exhort. But this jutsu is different. It uses chakra, with forces the brain to go passed its limits, allowing for continuous, high-speed taijutsu. In other words, this jutsu relies on a secret technique. It brings forth power almost to the limits of the human body, so you see, it's very dangerous."_

"_I understand, Gai-sensei." Lee nodded._

"_There's one time this jutsu can be used. When a particular condition is met." Gai stated, holding up one finger. Lee saluted him._

"_Yes, I see. So what is the condition, sir?" Lee asked._

"_Are you ready? You all need to take this to heart. The condition is…"_

—

'_The condition is…'_ Neji thought as he carried on jumping.

[--

Lee began to unwrap the bandages around his wrists, a stern and serious look on his face.

'_Gai-sensei, I have to use the Omote Renge now. The condition had been met. I must use the jutsu.'_ Lee thought to himself. The Sound ninja charged again and Lee spoke, but Gai's voice underlined his own as he echoed the words from not too long ago.

"To protect the life of someone precious!"

"He disappeared!" Dosu cried in shock. Before he could figure out what was going on, Lee appeared under him and kicked the bottom of his chin, sending in reeling back. Jumping up behind him, Lee and Dosu soared upwards in the air.

"Not yet!" Lee called. The bandages from his arms wrapped around Dosu, holding him in place, as Lee twisted them and they fell to the ground head-first.

"Oh no, Dosu. There's no way he can break his fall!" Zaku realised, performing hand seals at a fast rate.

"Take this!" Lee cried as he twisted again, making them both spin around quickly. "Omote Renge!"

Zaku finished his hand seals and dug his hands into the ground, sending his jutsu across to where Dosu would land. As the fur-backed ninja landed, the ground around him rose up with the pressure.

'_Argh, what is this feeling?'_ Lee asked himself as he jumped away from the place Dosu landed.

"Ha, got you just in time." Zaku smirked, his hands still in the ground as two lines of risen rock went from the appendages to where Dosu landed only seconds ago. "That impact could have been much worst for you." He mused. Dosu moved a little and pulled his upper body out of the ground, shaking his head.

"What?! This cannot be!" Lee, who had landed just in front of Sakura, cried out in shock.

"That's a frightening jutsu. You nearly took me out, even though I landed on this soft dirt." Dosu stated. Lee panted as Dosu stood and pulled up his sleeve again. "Now, it's my turn."

'_Oh no, my body still has not recovered from that jutsu.'_ Lee thought as he panted. Dosu charged and swung his arm as Lee dodged the blow, only to cry out in pain when his ears began to ring. His vision began to blur and ripple.

"Your jutsu is indeed fast," Dosu recognised. Lee blink and when he opened his eyes, Dosu was closer. "but our is even faster because it travels at the speed of sound." He stated. Lee fell to his knees and tried to get his mind straight again. "Effort by itself does nothing. Now watch; we're going to show you something called 'the wall'."

Kin smirked.

Zaku smirked.

Dosu smirked.

Sakura gritted her teeth.

Lee panted.

The Consequence

Sakura watched the enemy as she listened to Lee's gasps of breath. He was tied from the use of that Taijutsu move, and she knew it. The enemy knew it too, and Kin, Dosu and Zaku were fully prepared to use his weakness to their advantage in this fight. Lee, as he was blinking and trying to get his vision straight, felt a lurch in his stomach. He leant forwards and threw up in front of him, getting Sakura's almost worried eyes to fall on his shivering form.

"Lee-san! What's wrong?" She asked. _'This happened with Kabuto too, before the first exam!'_ The girl remembered.

'_**CHA! What kind of freak jutsu **__**is**__** that?!'**_ Inner yelled, pointing an angry finger at Dosu.

Lee just froze as his ears felt like they were exploding from the inside, a great pain coming shortly after. His eyes widened and Sakura saw a thin trail of blood coming from his ear. It wasn't a good sign. The Taijutsu user groaned in pain and coughed, still feeling like he was going to pass out any second from the pain.

'_My…My ear!'_ He cried mentally as both of his hands went up to cup the throbbing part of his head.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this little gadget I wear." Dosu mused with a smirk as he lifted his metal-covered arm. "You might be able to dodge my blows, but you can't get away from _it_."

'_Damn…this guy __**literally**__ has a trick up his sleeve.'_ Sakura thought with no humour at all. Dosu laughed and put his arms down again.

"I don't _need_ to strike you with my fists." He pointed out. "I can hit you with the power of sound."

"Sound?" Lee croaked.

"What makes it possible for the ear to hear things?" Dosu asked. "What is sound, really?"

"Vibrations." Sakura stated through gritted teeth.

"Give the little lady a prize." Dosu snorted. "Yes. It's the vibration of molecules in the ear. That creates a sound-wave. These vibrations are collected by the ear, and then connected through your outer ear canal to your eardrum. What interests _me_ are the organs of your _inner ear_. The ones that affect your sense of balance and your ability to move. Feeling a little dizzy? Nauseous? That's right; best not even _try_ to stand up for a while."

"You see, buddy, all that old fashioned taijutsu stuff won't work against _us._" Zaku stated proudly. Lee growled. "Not that your not pretty good at it, it's just that; what's the point? Compared to _our_ jutsu, that stuff's yesterday's news." He pulled his hands out of the ground. "See, I can control ultrasonic waves and air pressure. I can do things you've never even dreamed of."

—

"_Take this!" Lee cried as he twisted again, making them both spin around quickly. "Omote Renge!"_

_Zaku finished his hand seals and dug his hands into the ground, sending his jutsu across to where Dosu would land. As the fur-backed ninja landed, the ground around him rose up with the pressure._

—

"I can obliterate boulders or make the ground itself as soft as a silken feather cushion." Zaku boasted. He showed Lee his palms, which had metal circles in the middle. What looked like a stream of air rushed out of them and he smirked. "Face it, little man; you're up against the jutsu of the future."

Sakura frowned and bit back a gasp of surprise, which Zaku caught. He looked at her and smirked, chuckling a bit as well. Lee was still gasping in pain, but h too was more than a little intimidated by this new discovery about the three Otogakure ninja. If _this_ was their Genin power, then the green-clad boy really didn't want to meet a Jounin.

"Now then, little girl! It's your turn!" Dosu yelled, pulling back his arm to strike. Lee's eyes widened when he heard the declaration and Sakura tensed.

'_I can't block and I'm not fast enough to dodge!'_ She realised. Dosu ran passed Lee and right towards the pink haired girl as she clenched her fists, rapidly trying to think of a way to evade.

"No!" Lee cried. Sakura pulled out a kunai and held it in front of her, no ways to escape forming in her mind. "NO!" The boy cried again as he rose and ran to the girl to protect her.

"What?!" Dosu growled in surprise.

"Lee!" Sakura recognised.

"Konoha Senpu!" He cried, aiming his leg to kick Dosu. Lee clenched his eyes shut in pain and Dosu took advantage of his slowed speed to grab the leg.

"Hm, not so effective as it was before, is it?" He mused mockingly as Lee groaned in pain. Dosu jumped back and aimed a fist at Lee. "Still, it's impressive that you can move at all. We'll have to do something about that." The arm moved up and Lee blocked by holding his arms over his injured ear, protecting it. Dosu just grunted and activated his jutsu, forcing a high-pitched noise to leak from his metal appendage.

"Lee! No!" Sakura gasped.

"Do you hear that? The jutsu amplified the vibration from the impact, turning them into a wave of sound." Dosu informed him. "The sound wave I control with my chakra, focusing it on any target I desire!" He yelled, focusing all his attack on Lee's injured ear.

"Stop it!" Sakura yelled. Dosu stopped the jutsu and Lee fell to the ground, his eyes wide and blood trickling from his ear still.

"All right, little man…time to end it." Dosu stated darkly.

"That's what you think!" Sakura yelled, throwing three kunai and two shuriken at him. He just lifted his arm and they hit it, falling uselessly to the ground.

"Ah…I'd almost forgotten _you_." Dosu hummed.

In a bush not too far from the fight, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were crouched. They watched the battle from when Lee first preformed his Omote Renge, but remained hidden for fear of their own lives.

"These guys are scary. I vote for getting outta here." Choji stated, gulping and—for once—not eating anything.

"Sasuke and Naruto are totally out of it, and Lee's not looking too good either." Shikamaru reported. "Looks like Sakura's pretty weak at the moment as well. How troublesome." He sighed. "Well, what do you wanna do…Ino?"

"Why ask me, huh?" She replied, frozen in shock while looking at the fight.

"Well, if we don't do something soon, she's toast. Team seven probably had another fight before this one and Sakura looks like she's way weaker that usual." He whispered back. "You cool with that?"

"Wha-?" Ino asked in shock.

"You, her and Hinata. The three of you got along pretty well a few years ago, didn't you?" He asked.

—

"_Ino-san?" Sakura asked coolly, her eyes half closed._

"_Hm? What is it, Sakura-san?" Ino asked her companion. They weren't really friends, but the two of them weren't too far from the concept of friendship with each other._

"_I though about what you said…about becoming full friends. Like Hinata-chan and I." She answered._

"_And?" The blonde smiled hopefully._

"_I can't. I know that anyone who gets too close to me will end up hurt anyway. Hinata-chan accepted this fact. Whether you accept it or not is your own problem, but everyone I've made friends with so far has come close to death shortly after."_

"_Death?" Ino whispered._

"_Yes. There are very few people I feel that I would protect from that and, despite the bond I feel with you, you are not one of those people." Sakura told her calmly, not meaning any ill will towards the blue-eyed girl._

"_B-But…what about Hinata-san?!" Ino cried._

"_She and three others…that's all." Sakura stated. "Good bye, Ino-san."_

—

'_Geez, Ino, get a grip!'_ Ino scolded herself. _'That's all ancient history. She was doing it to…protect me in some weird way.'_

"Well?" Shikamaru prompted. "Ino!" He called, seeing that she wasn't listening to him. She jumped and faced the pineapple headed boy on her team with a frown. "Well? What do you wanna do?"

"Why do you keep asking me that? What am I supposed to do?" She hissed with a scowl. "You want me to g out there and get myself killed?"

"Heh?" Shikamaru grunted in surprise. That soon turned to anger at her selfish attitude.

'_I mean…that's all that would happen.'_ She assured herself as she stood on shaky legs. _'I'd just be in the same fix she is. And what good would that do anybody?'_

"HA!" Sakura cried as she launched four shuriken at Dosu. Zaku slid in front of him and readied a hand sign before facing his palms to the weapons and using air pressure to blow them away. Sakura moved her arms over her face to avoid getting dust in her eyes.

'_A wall of air.'_ She realised. _'Weapons would just bounce off.'_ The girl tried to move to the side, but only then realised that the woman from the team of Sound ninja—Kin—was behind her. Kin grabbed Sakura's locks of hair and smirked, holding the girl in place.

"My, my, what soft and shiny hair." She mused with a smirk. "But you know what? If you spent a little less time shampooing and a little more time practicing your jutsu, you might not be in this fix." The woman sneered, moving Sakura's head with her hair.

"I don't shampoo that often. It's just that I have nicer hair than you." The pinkette scoffed, receiving a sharp tug on her hair. She hissed and clenched her eyes shut. _'Okay, so maybe insulting the enemy __**isn't**__ the best idea at this point in time.'_

'_**Gee, ya think?'**_ Inner rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Zaku! I know what would be fun!" Kin called. "Let's make Miss Beauty Queen watch while we finish off that Sasuke guy." She smirked.

"Yeah, like I care." Sakura scoffed. Kin looked at her through narrow eyes before smirking again.

"Or perhaps the blonde one?" She added. Sakura's eyes widened and she froze, getting a smirk out of all the Sound ninja.

"Why not? Sounds like fun to me." Zaku chuckled.

'_You stay away from him!'_ Sakura growled mentally as she tried her luck at pulling away from Kin, who just pulled her back.

"Don't even try." Kin said loudly.

"Sakura." Lee groaned as he moved his head painfully to look at the trapped pink haired ninja.

'_It's no use. There's only one way out of this…and the consequences of that are…well…'_ She trailed off, clenching both her hands and teeth. _'Why to go, Sakura. You won't even help others when you suffer for it. How selfish __**are**__ you?!'_

"Okay, let's do this." Zaku hummed as he walked towards Naruto and Sasuke with a grin. However, no one noticed the purple chakra seeping from the mark on Sasuke's neck.

"Man, this thing's about to get really ugly!" Shikamaru gasped as he and the rest of his team watched Zaku continue to approach the unconscious boys. He passed Sakura and Ino froze.

"What do I do?" She muttered to herself, but no one heard her.

"Forget it!" Sakura yelled, getting Zaku to stop and everyone to look at her. she took out a kunai and gripped it tightly in her hands, her arms shaking with second thoughts.

"Come on." Kin scoffed. "That's pointless. It won't work on me." She stated, but frowned when Sakura turned around, a smirk prominent on her face.

"It's not mean for you." Sakura stated darkly, causing Kin's eyes to widen.

"What the-?!" She asked. Everyone was in shock as the blade came slicing through the locks of candyfloss, separating them from Sakura's head and thus freeing her from Kin. Her hair, once falling down to her knees, was not barely longer than Kiba's, with the exception of her collarbone-length bangs.

Stray locks floated around her and three long strands remained on the kunai, moving with the movement of her cutting. Sakura's eye were closed and a content smile set on her face as she felt the hair she cut brushing her arms and cheeks as it moved to settle on the ground. Her breath rushed out in a sigh and she half opened her eyes.

'_I've always wanted to be a true ninja…but I was only used for killing, making me nothing more than a cold-blooded murderer.'_ Sakura said to herself. _'Growing up…I was taught to save myself, and not care if my team died. As long I was alive and could kill again, my father was alright with everything else. So, I grew up selfish.'_

—

"_Sakura-san! Help!" A man drowning in his own blood cried, holding out a hand to the six-year-old. She turned away from him._

"_It's not my problem to worry for your life." She said, running back to her village and leaving the man to die._

—

'_Then…I met Naruto. At first, I thought he was a fool. A nobody who wanted to be acknowledged. It didn't matter to me that he was put down and hurt by everyone, just as long as they left me alone. Hinata-chan was a different story. She was the second. The second to actually enter __**my world**__. Her and Tsuki. The only ones I cared about enough to protect them.'_

—

"_I…h-heard that y-you're new…"_

"_I am."_

"_M-My name is Hy-Hyuuga Hinata."_

"_Go away."_

—

'_I was taught to push everyone away. When they got too close, my father would hurt them. When I __**let**__ them get too close, my father hurt __**me**__. But, everything changed when Naruto took that scroll. I could only think of how selfish he was being…how uncaring of other…how much he was acting like me.'_

—

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She hissed angrily at him, her emerald orbs burning with rage._

—

'_Now…I will __**stop**__ being so selfish. I will protect those close to me with my life. I will __**never**__ let someone die as long as I can do something to help them. No matter what the consequences. You taught me that Uzumaki Naruto. And…I thank you.'_ She smiled, looking back at her team mate fondly. She then turn to Lee. _'Lee…you're not even on my team…but you put your life on the line for me…that's selflessness, if nothing else. I will learn from you two…I will __**never**__ be so selfish again! __**That is my way of the ninja!**__'_

'_S-Sakura…_' Ino thought with wide eyes as Sakura's fist clenched.

'_Sakura…san…_' Lee gasped mentally when her eyes opened, showing raw determination.

"Kin! Finish her!" Zaku ordered with a growl. Kin took a kunai and jumped towards Sakura, who was using hand seals. Zaku saw the ones she was using and smirked. _'Hmm. I know that hand sign._' He smirked, using a jutsu of his own. Kin hit her, but she was replaced by a log in a cloud of smoke.

"A Kawarimi!" Kin realised with shock over her face.

'_You think you can fool me with that lame ninjutsu?'_ Zaku asked mentally as he held his hands at the ready. _'I'm onto you…in fact, I'm way ahead of you.'_ He smirked when Sakura ran at him. "Kin! Get outta the way!" He yelled, Kin jumping away as she was told.

"Take that!" Sakura called, launching her shuriken at him.

"Pathetic!" Zaku scoffed. He readied his hands and saw that she was using the same seals as before. _'Again with the signs?'_ He asked himself, irritated with the repeated jutsu. "Zankuha!" He called, sending a wave of air to the weapons and causing them to hit Sakura, who was once again replaced with a log. "Okay, where are you now?" He asked, looking around. Sakura appeared behind Kin, who was a few feet in front of Zaku. She preformed a series of fast hand seals she gritted her teeth.

"Kanjoo Jiyuu!" She called, but nothing noticeable happened. Zaku scoffed and threw a kunai at her, but she turned into a log again.

"Like that was a surprise." Zaku snorted. "Now, were are you?" He asked himself, looking around. She appeared above him, her eyes a burning red, and he scoffed. "Please, you can't even create a good clone. The eye colour is wrong." He told her, grabbing three kunai and throwing them at her.

"Ugh." The girl groaned as the kunai hit her. Zaku grinned, looking around again for the real Sakura, but all that he discovered was that she was real when two splotches of blood hit him, one on his cheek and the other on his Hatei-ate. He looked up again.

'_This time it's really her! But…the eyes!'_ He thought as she landed and drove a kunai through his arm. Zaku's eyes narrowed in pain and the Red-eyed Sakura flipped over and landed a few feet away. Zaku got up and pulled the kunai out of his arm, only to see the red-eyed Sakura with a dark blue-eyed one.

"Che…pathetic." The red eyed one scoffed.

"What is this?" Zaku asked, his eyes wide.

"A kekkei genkai." A grey eyed one—Emotionless—told him blankly as she stepped into the clearing.

"Too bad! Now we have to kick your butt, cutie!" Desire giggled as she jumped down from a high branch and looked at Zaku.

"Oh well, today was looking dull anyway." Depression sighed, still standing next to Rage.

"Baka-Sakura's used the Kanjoo Jiyuu too soon! Now she'll have to fact the consequences!" Anger—purple eyes—yelled as she kicked Kin in the hip and stood with the others.

'_Sakura…'_ Hinata—who was in a bush on the other side of the clearing to team ten with Kiba and Shino—thought with wide eyes.

—

_Hinata walked to the Hokage tower with her father and her little sister to speak with Sarutobi about mission given to the Hyuuga clan. Hiashi wasn't happy that two of his clan members had been receiving only D-ranked missions for the past two weeks at their current Chunin level while the Genin Uchihas had been getting C-ranked missions._

"_Wait here." Hiashi grunted to Hinata, who nodded as her father and sister entered the tower. Just as he walked in, a girl walked out wearing a traditional Haruno fighting style kimono._

_It was red and stopped just above the knees with slits up to her hips. The lining of the kimono was white and the under shorts, which went to the middle of her thighs, was both black. The sleeves of the kimono stopped at her wrists but fanned out in a small bell shape. The white obi had a black and red serpent on it while her kunai holster remained strapped her to my right leg and her shuriken pouch still sat on her left hip. She also wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves that stop at the wrist and black shinobi boots. On the back of her kimono, in the middle of her shoulder blades, was a white circle. Her hair, which reached to her hips and was pulled across her shoulder in a braid, had small snowflakes decorating it._

"_Ex-Excuse me." Hinata muttered before the girl could go too far._

"_What?" She asked, turning to face Hinata and narrowing her eyes._

"_I…h-heard that y-you're new…" The Hyuuga stuttered._

"_I am." The pinkette replied with a grunt._

"_M-My name is Hy-Hyuuga Hinata." She introduced herself._

"_Go away." The girl said, turning and leaving._

—

'_Sakura-san…'_ Ino thought.

—

"_Hey, Ino-chan! Where are you going?" A friend of Ino's asked when she saw the blonde walking in the opposite direction to were they usually had lunch._

"_Just to meet someone. I'll be back soon!" She promised, running off to see the pink haired girl who had just joined her class. When she got to the place Sakura had stopped, she saw that Hinata was sitting with her, fidgeting with her shirt as the Haruno girl ignored her._

"_A-Ah! Ino-s-san." Hinata stuttered, standing up and bowing to Ino._

"_Hm? Oh, hi, Hinata-san!" Ino smiled. Sakura sighed._

"_See, she knows you. Go and bug her." She grunted to Hinata, pointing to Ino as she said it._

"_B-But…S-Sakura-san…" Hinata protested weakly._

"_I like to be alone. It means that I only have to look out for myself." She glared._

"_That's pretty selfish." Ino commented._

"_So?" Sakura asked, taking a bite of her rice from her Bento._

"_Well…I'm Yamanaka Ino."_

"_You know what? __**I'm**__ leaving."_

—

"We'll kill you for even trying to hurt Naruto-kun!" Anger yelled, clenching her fists. She ran forwards a bit, but had to stop when Shy fell to her knees

"S-Sakura-ch-chan i-isn't s-st-strong e-enough a-at the m-moment to s-support us f-for to-too l-long." She muttered, clutching her abdomen in pain as her legs began to turn into pale green butterflies.

"Great! The one time she uses us with consequence is the one time she's too weak to keep us all out for as long as we're needed!!!" Rage screamed when Shy disappeared into butterflies up to her neck. Three seconds later, the weakest emotion was gone.

—

"_Hinata-san…Ino-san…" Sakura trailed off as she and the two other girls sat in the back of the classroom._

"_Yeah?" Ino asked, smiling at the girl she hung out with._

"_Wh-What is it, S-Sakura-san?" Hinata stuttered._

"_Let…go to the tree…you know, for lunch." She stated unsurely. Ino and Hinata smiled, knowing that she was making an effort and it was hard for her to be social._

—

Rage growled and Anger clenched her fists tighter as Desire and Love both disappeared together, being the twin emotions. They nodded to the others and decided to use their limited time to fight.

Rage ran at Zaku from the right while Anger jumped up to get him from above and Emotionless threw kunai at him. Zaku sent the kunai back with air pressure and jumped out of the way of Anger and Rage, but got hit in the back by Pride's foot. She grinned, but then exploded into millions of black butterflies.

With a loud battle cry, Rage pulled back her fist and aimed it at Zaku, but the closer she came the more her fist became butterflies. Her knuckles were millimetres from his face when they became red butterflies, followed by the red of her arm, her chest, her neck and thighs and finally the rest of her.

Brown butterflies appeared to the Right of Vain as Intelligent disappeared and Vain followed her before she could even get a yell out to the others.

As Fear vanished into yellow butterflies, Envy threw kunai at Zaku from his left and Happy threw them from his right. Only two kunai actually hit him and they disappeared in waves of dark green and orange butterflies.

Now, with only Anger, Emotionless and Depression left, they all ran at him together. Anger began to disappear, but she managed to hit him once in the face with her fist and throw Depression into an attacking position before all that was left of her was purple butterflies.

Now, the clearing was covered in all kind of butterflies, all waiting for Depression to join them so that they could go back into Emotionless. And join them she did, right after knocking Zaku back into a tree. She burst into dark blue butterflies and all of the emotions flew back into the grey eyed one, who closed her eyes and fell to her knees.

"Shit…it didn't last long enough." Sakura panted, opening her emerald green eyes. She looked back at Naruto and Sasuke, then turned her gaze to Lee before growling and standing up.

"You'll pay for that!" Zaku promised, rushing forwards and punching the weakened Sakura in the cheek. She flew back and hit a tree, but he wasn't done. He grabbed her by the neck and held her against the tree as he punched her left cheek three times, getting hard with each hit. Then, he pulled her away from the tree and kicked her in the stomach, sending her into a heap in the middle of the clearing.

She tried to get up, but her arm slipped and she fell back on her face with a thud. Zaku walked up to her, a scowl on his face, and he brought his foot down hard on her left arm, braking the bone in her lower arm. He heard the snap and smirked, kicking her in the chest and breaking two of her ribs. Sakura cried out in pain and tried to use her right arm—the uninjured one—to get up.

Ino watched in shock as Sakura got kicked again and cried out as she was sent across the ground. She never thought that she would see such a proud girl beaten down so badly. As Sakura cried out in pain again, Ino had to cringe away, but she still heard the distinct crack of another rib.

—

"_Hey, Ino-san?" Sakura called, her arms behind her back._

"_Yeah?" Ino smiled._

"_You like Sasuke-san…right?" She asked. Ino nodded, but looked at Sakura curiously._

"_Do you like him too?" She questioned. Sakura scowled._

"_No." She said blankly. "But, I just found out something that you might want to know about him. I could improve your chance to get him."_

"_Tell me! Tell me!" Ino cheered._

"_He likes girl with long hair."_

—

"_I though about what you said…about becoming full friends. Like Hinata-chan and I." She answered._

"_And?" The blonde smiled hopefully._

"_I can't. I know that anyone who gets too close to me will end up hurt anyway. Hinata-chan accepted this fact. Whether you accept it or not is your own problem, but everyone I've made friends with so far has come close to death shortly after."_

—

_Ino and Sakura stood with their back to one another, their long hair flowing in the wind._

"_Ha! Your hair is pretty long. You sure you don't like Sasuke-kun?"_

"_I like him about as much as I like you, Ino-pig."_

"_Grrrrr! I'm not going to lose to you, Sakura! One day, I'll show you how much better I am than you! I will never let you show me up!"_

—

Blood poured from a wound on Sakura's arm where the bone was forced through the skin. She just grit her teeth as Zaku's fist came down on her face once again. He picked her up by her collar and kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the ground once again.

"Oh man…this is bad." Choji cried out when he saw Zaku punch Sakura in the nose, probably breaking it and causing blood to trickle out.

"Well, Ino? Do we help now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Say so long, brat!" Zaku growled, facing his palm as her and preparing to cut her to ribbons.

'_I guess…that this is finally it. No more Akatsuki to worry about. No more regrets. No more pain…I never did get to tell Naruto how much I...like him.'_ She thought, closing her eyes and waiting for her end.

Just before set lose his attack, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji—who Ino and Shikamaru had pulled out using his scarf—were in front of her. Behind the pinkette was Hinata, Kiba and Shino, along with Akamaru, who ran to her side and growled in Zaku's direction. Zaku straightened a bit.

"Huh?" He grunted breathlessly, probably a little tired from beating Sakura in her weakened state. "Heh, so what's this? The second and third strings?" Zaku asked in amusement.

"Ino…Hinata-chan." Sakura panted, not even trying to get up again.

"Surprised? I told you that I'd never let you show me up, didn't I?" The blonde stated.

'_That consequence…I wonder if it'll come back to haunt me.'_ Sakura mused as she looked at team ten.

'_**Probably.'**_ Inner sighed.

'_Losing the Kanjoo Jiyuu forever isn't that bad…right?'_


	18. Niisan is Back and Akamaru is Scared

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Battle Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho!

Blood poured from a wound on Sakura's arm where the bone was forced through the skin. She just gritted her teeth as Zaku's fist came down on her face once again. He picked her up by her collar and kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the ground once again.

"Oh man…this is bad." Choji cried out when he saw Zaku punch Sakura in the nose, probably breaking it and causing blood to trickle out.

"Well, Ino? Do we help now?" Shikamaru asked.

"Say so long, brat!" Zaku growled, facing his palm as her and preparing to cut her to ribbons.

'I guess…that this is finally it. No more Akatsuki to worry about. No more regrets. No more pain…I never did get to tell Naruto how much I...like him.' She thought, closing her eyes and waiting for her end.

Just before set lose his attack, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji—who Ino and Shikamaru had pulled out using his scarf—were in front of her. Behind the pinkette were Hinata, Kiba and Shino, along with Akamaru, who ran to her side and growled in Zaku's direction. Zaku straightened a bit.

"Huh?" He grunted breathlessly, probably a little tired from beating Sakura in her weakened state. "Heh, so what's this? The second and third strings?" Zaku asked in amusement.

"Ino…Hinata-chan." Sakura panted, not even trying to get up again.

"Surprised? I told you that I'd never let you show me up, didn't I?" The blonde stated.

'_**That consequence…I wonder if it'll come back to haunt me.'**_ Sakura mused as she looked at team ten.

'_**Probably.'**_ Inner sighed.

'_Losing the Kanjoo Jiyuu forever isn't that bad…right?'_

--

'_**What is this?'**_ _Sasuke asked himself mentally as he looked around the golden leaves surrounding him. __**'Where am I?'**__ He wondered, his eyes finding a small figure in black. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. __**'I wonder; who's this?'**__ He mused before realisation fell on him. __**'It's me…from a long time ago.'**_

"_Otou-san and Okaa-chan shouldn't have died." Younger Sasuke stated in a grated, hate-filled voice. "It didn't have to happen." He said as a tear fell from his eye and to the ground._

_The scene changed and they were now in a dark room. A woman lay motionless on the ground with blood covering her. A man lay over her, his blood also pooling on both her body and the floor._

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he recalled the memory._

"_They're all dead," Spat little Sasuke, "Because I wasn't strong enough to save them. My whole clan has been destroyed."_

--

Sasuke twitched on the forest floor as purple chakra seemed to rise from his body. Not far from him, Naruto also lay motionless, not even a breath heavy enough to lift his chest, although he was breathing. Then there was the final member of team seven, laying between teams ten and eight, with the former in front of her and the latter behind. Her bones were broken and her blood was covering her form, but she still managed to smirk.

"Oh, Zaku…looks like you're going down." She hummed, finding humour in her situation due to deliriousness as a result of blood loss. Hinata seemed to notice this.

"These Leaf Village worms will be sorry they squirmed into something that doesn't concern them." Dosu smirked, looking between his opponents. As a result of his stare, Choji shook.

"Are you two crazy? What are we doing here?" Choji asked his team mates, who both looked at him. "These guys are bad news, man."

"Don't look at me; it was Ino's idea." Shikamaru stated. "But what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let Haruno prove that to be a great Konoha ninja you have to come from somewhere _other_ than Konoha? It's troublesome, but you know it's true."

"Ahehehe." Ino laughed fakely. "Sorry for dragging you both into this, but we are a three-man-squad, right? All for one and one for all!"

"Yeah, what's meant to happen, will." Shikamaru agreed with a smirk.

"This ain't teamwork! I call this suicide!" Choji whined, looked very scared. "Lemme outta here! Please! Lemme go!" He yelled, struggling on the grip Shikamaru had on his scarf.

"Stop it, man; you're getting on my nerves." The lazy genius warned.

"Ne, Choji-san…if you _want_ a suicidal view of teamwork…you could _always_ join team seven." Sakura grinned. Choji paled.

"N-No thanks." He turned it down, gulping when she laughed. Hinata kneeled by her friend and placed a hand on her forehead. She was burning up.

"Heheheheh; better a live sheep than a dead lion." Zaku mused with a chuckle. "Eh, fatso?" He asked. Choji's ear twitched.

"Did I just hear that right?" He asked in a dark tone. "What did that guy just say?"

"Huh?" Zaku looked confused by Choji's sudden turnaround from wimpy to almost threatening.

'_Uh oh; he just pushed Choji's button, big time.'_ Shikamaru thought with his eyebrows twitching.

"You wanna try saying that again?" Choji asked, not turning at all to face the Sound-nin.

"I said you were smart to get out while you still can…fatty." He repeated, not stopping once in his 'add insult to insult and screw the injury for now' campaign. Choji suddenly turned with his teeth clenched and his eyes wide with anger.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING FAT?! I'M JUST A LITTLE CHUBBY, OKAY?!" He screamed. Sakura raised a brow. "That does it! Now this is personal! It's a fight to the death between Leaf and Sound!" Choji declared with fire burning in his eyes.

'_Hmm, excellent.'_ Ino thought with a smile as she watched Choji. _'He's totally lost it.'_

"Good job." Shikamaru droned to the Sound ninja. "Thanks a lot; now _we_ gotta live with him." He sighed.

"Don't worry. It won't be for long." Zaku assured, narrowing his eyes. _'Ah, now we've gotta get rid of these clowns. Sasuke's the main target._'

Hinata observed everything going on. She saw that, although Ino was probably best suited to take control, the blonde girl was too busy keeping an eye on the enemy. Gulping down her fear, she stood up and took a deep breath.

"Ino-san; you and your team fight them off. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun; you two lift Sakura-chan carefully between you and carry her to Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun. Once there, I will assess her injuries and determine whether or not she will be okay." She ordered. No one moved, for they were all in shock at her lack of stuttering. "NOW!" Hinata yelled. That was all it took. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji sunk into battle stances while Kiba held Sakura's upper body and Shino took her lower body.

"Right, Hinata-san! Okay, team Ino; let's show them who here is really the boss!" Ino demanded.

"Right." Her male team mates replied simultaneously.

"Formation!" She called. "Ino!"

"Shika!"

"Cho!"

"Okay! Take it away, Choji." The blonde permitted. Choji spread his legs into a strong stance.

"My pleasure!" He said, his seriousness not leaving his face. "Baika no Jutsu!" As soon as the jutsu was complete, Choji looked more like a large ball with a head and limbs. "Followed by Leaf-style taijutsu." With a grunt, he pulled his left arm in. This also happened to his right arm, both of his legs and his head. "Nikudan Sensha!" Choji lifted off the ground for a moment before his body began to turn rapidly. It hit the ground and went barrelling towards Zaku at an incredible speed.

"You've gotta be kidding." Zaku scoffed with a smirk. "Maybe I'm supposed to laugh myself to death. Slicing Sound Waves!" He yelled, pointing his air holes at the Cho-ball.

'_Come on, Choji!'_ Ino cheered mentally, biting her lip and eying her team mate. Everyone watched closely as the sound waves kept Choji in place, even though the Genin's larger body was still rolling. Zaku clenched his teeth, feeling the pressure of Choji's speed weighing down on his technique. He growled and increased the waves, but Choji shifted his weight and jumped up into the air. Zaku gasped.

'_He jumped the air stream!'_ He realised, looking up at the green ball above him. _'This thing's spinning way too fast. My sound wave can't control it…and if I try going supersonic on it…it's liable to rip my arms right off!'_ The Sound-nin frowned and his face consorted into a glare at the ever nearing Choji.

"Huh? Zaku!" Dosu voiced, running towards his vulnerable team mate as fast as he could.

'_Oh no you don't, mummy-man.'_ Shikamaru though, sinking into position to perform his own jutsu. _'Time to put you under wraps.'_ He mused, gathering chakra. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" The boy yelled as his shadow stretched and twisted its way towards Dosu. The latter froze when the shadow met its target, holding him in place by joining with Dosu's shadow.

"What's happening?" Dosu growled, looking down. "Huh?" He cried in shock, seeing the joined shadows.

"Just me and my shadow." Shikamaru chuckled with a smirk after seeing the Sound-nin's panicked face. Meanwhile, Choji crashed to the ground and Zaku only just managed to jump to the side. He growled.

"What!" Dosu snapped as he was forced to do as Shikamaru did, putting his hands above his head and curling his arms to an arch.

"What is it?!" Kin demanded in her shrill voice. "Why are you just standing there like that?" She looked over and Shikamaru and saw him doing the same as realisation dawned on her. The Nara smirked and, for once in his life, looked like he was genuinely having fun, no traces of boredom anywhere on his face or in that amused smirk of his.

"Ugh…it's some kind of paralysis jutsu." Dosu noticed. Shikamaru moved his hands, forcing Dosu to do the same and they now both looked like a pair of toddlers using their hands as ears on the sides of their heads.

"Ino." Shikamaru called, his amusement fading. "I'll leave the girl to you."

"Okay, you got it." Ino smiled. "Just take care of my body while I'm gone." She said, resting her hands in a seal.

"Sure." He drawled back. Kin looked at them in shock.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" She called, looking Kin dead in the eye. The Sound-nin's pupil shrank before her eyelids drooped and Ino's body fell against Shikamaru. Choji was still rolling around, trying to flatten Zaku, but the Abumi boy just wouldn't stay still.

"Enough of this!" He growled. "Kin!" Zaku called to the girl, who was standing perfectly still with her eyes closed.

"What's wrong with you?" Dosu, still held in Shikamaru's jutsu, asked gruffly. Her eyes opened and she smirked, hold a kunai up to her own throat.

"Party's over, fellas." Kin/Ino said in a more girly voice than usual. The boys were shocked. "Take it easy. One false move from either of you and your team mate here gets it in the neck. You don't want that to happen, so here's what you do; just drop the scroll and walk away." She threatened. The males smirked. "When you're far enough away that I can't sense your chakras, I'll let her go."

"Sakura-chan, a-are you o-okay?" Hinata stuttered as she knelt next to her pink-haired friend. Sakura winced and looked over to where Naruto was.

"Is _he_ okay?" She asked. Hinata also looked over to the blonde and frowned slightly on the inside, but outwardly smiled.

"He's fine." She assured.

"Then I'm happy." Sakura told her.

'_Happy when he's okay…but what if that was me?'_ Hinata had to wonder.

'_I don't get these guys…something's wrong.'_ Ino thought. "Hey, Choji!"

"Coming!" Choji called, rolling down from above them.

'_What's going on?'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'What're they up to?'_ She asked Inner as Zaku raised his arm.

'_**These guys…are worse than scum.'**_ Inner scowled. A blast of air was shot from Zaku's arm towards Kin's body, but Choji got there in time to lessen the impact. She was still sent back into the tree though, and hit it with a grunt. Shikamaru looked down on Ino's body as a trail of blood seeped out of the corner of her mouth.

"This is bad!" Shikamaru stated, looking at the blood with wide eyes.

"I don't feel so good." A back-to-normal Choji stated as he got up from the ground, hold a hand over his mouth. Ino, still in Kin's body, shakily raised her upper half with her forearms.

"I…I don't understand you guys." She admitted. "What kind of monsters would attack their own team mate?"

"I guess…monsters like us." Zaku mused as he got ready to fight her.

"You see, we don't play this game by your rules. It's not the scrolls we're after, or even passing this test." Dosu added. Team ten's eyes all widened.

"What then?" Ino/Kin asked.

"Sasuke." He told her darkly as Sakura's eye twitched. Purple chakra continued to flow from Sakura's entire body.

"Ah ha." Dosu smirked when he saw Shikamaru's jutsu weaken and the younger boy's shadow shrink back to normal size.

"I hate it when that happens." He grumbled.

"So, your paralysis jutsu has a pretty limited duration, I see." The mummy-man laughed, moving his arms.

"It's Shadow Possession. Get your jutsus right." The Nara scolded for lack of anything else to saw. He was rather annoyed by his lack of stamina when that jutsu was concerned.

"Whatever." Dosu hummed. "And I see that your team mate is able to slip her soul into her opponent. Very clever, but dangerous. Anything that happens to Kin, happens to _her_ too. So if, say, Kin were to die…"

"What're you going to do?" Shikamaru interrupted. "Kill your team mate?"

"Well, if push comes to shove…yeah." Zaku stated, holding his hand up in Kin/Ino's direction again. The girl's eyes narrowed. Shikamaru growled before his face became long and tired.

"Oh man, this is troublesome." He groaned.

"Yeah, I don't get it." Choji whined.

"Did you really think you could beat us? Face it, you ninja are a bunch of hacks." Zaku snorted.

"From a second rate village." Dosu added.

"Huh." Another voice joined in from up in the trees. "That's pretty tough talk." Everyone looked up towards the voice. Standing on a branch, looking very proud, was Hyuuga Neji. Tenten stood slightly behind him, assessing the scene. No one noticed Hinata wince as she and her team silently left after she bid ado to Sakura. "I guess that makes your village third-rate. I wonder if any of you amateurs are ready to take on the real thing."

"What?" Dosu growled.

"That voice…" Sakura whispered. "Lee's team mates…finally." She realised, trying to get up. The more fighters there were, the more chances they had of winning. Team ten could use more help after Hinata bailed on them.

"Lee." Tenten bit her lip, seeing her team mate unconscious. She then looked over to Sakura, whose movement had caught her attention, and her eyes widened upon seeing bone piercing skin.

"You blew it." Neji told them.

"Heh. The little Leaf Village Genin keep popping up out of the woods like cockroaches." Dosu mused unhappily.

"We're not cockroaches." Sakura panted as she stood shakily on her feet.

"Sakura!" Ino called through Kin's mouth. "Why isn't Hinata-san keeping you still?"

"She bailed." The pinkette sighed. "Now, as I was saying. We're not cockroaches."

"Oh? That please, what are you?" Dosu humoured her.

"Leaves." She smiled. Neji raised a brow before looking at his team mate.

"It looks like someone used Lee as a punching bag." He acknowledged calmly before he exploded, activating his Byakugan. "No one does that and gets away with it!" The boy yelled. Everyone looked in shock as the normally cool and collected prodigy gritted his teeth.

'_Those eyes! He's not just looking at us, he's seeing through us.'_ Dosu thought in shock as Neji looked at them through his Byakugan.

"No more playing around, Tenten." Neji told the girl. "Full power!" He stated. Tenten nodded, taking her weapons to hand. Suddenly, Neji dropped his bloodline and looked in shock at the battle.

"What's the matter, Neji?" Tenten asked in concern.

'_That chakra.'_ Neji thought.

"Well? Are you going to stand up there all day, or are you going to come down here and do something about it?" Dosu mocked.

"Actually, it looks like it may have been taken out of my hands." He smirked. Dosu looked confused until he too felt the pull of chakra from Sasuke's direction. The purple chakra was leaking off of him in waves and his body was twitching. It consumed him entirely.

--

_Sasuke looked upon his younger self, who was holding his head in his hands and crying over the loss of his mother and father. Older Sasuke was in shock at seeing himself looking so weak and pitiful._

"_They're all dead." Little Sasuke said sourly. "It because I wasn't strong enough to save them. My whole clan has been destroyed. If only I was stronger…if only I had more power…" The boy suddenly gripped one side of his face and looked up at his older counterpart, who gasped. "Instead, you stood by and watched them die. So helpless. Like lambs to the slaughter. If only you were stronger…if only you had more power."_

_He pulled back the skin around his eye to reveal the eye of Orochimaru._

--

Sasuke stood up with the purple chakra spiralling around him, turning up rocks. His body was shadowed and an evil aura surrounded the Uchiha heir. It was so foul that even Sakura winced away from him, stepping back in what could only be described as shock. She knew this had something to do with the curse seal, but her seal hadn't offered such a strong boost in chakra and power. Everyone else looked at him, deathly afraid of the dark Uchiha.

"Sasuke…?" Ino/Kin whispered, fear in her voice. "That's Sasuke?" She wondered as half of his body was covered in marks that glowed red.

"Sakura…" Sasuke began. The girl's eyes narrowed and she tried to step away from him, but she fell to the ground after putting weight of her more injured leg.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked with a snarl.

"Tell me…" He said. "Tell me who hurt you."

"Like I'm telling you! You're crazy!" She yelled at him.

"Who was it?!" Sasuke demanded.

'_Those marks…they're all over his body.'_ Dosu thought in shock.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The pinkette asked as Sasuke lifted a hand and looked at the palm through his Sharingan eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm alright. It's only the power flowing through me." He assured her, to which Sakura rolled her eyes.

'_When did I ever say I was worried? Stupid little brat.'_ She scoffed mentally.

"In fact, I've never felt better. He gave me this gift, and he made me understand what I am." Sasuke said, obviously speaking to everyone who was listening of Orochimaru. "I am an avenger. To follow my path, I must have power. At any price, even if it means being consumed by evil."

'_Now I see._' Dosu thought in shock. _'The girl didn't lie. He has the curse seal.'_

"Now…tell me. Which one of these people did this to you?" He asked.

"Feh! That would be me." Zaku stated in pride, his smirk sat firmly on his face as Sasuke turned towards him.

"Huh?" Neji hummed as he looked towards a bush that had moved slightly just moments ago. He focused his Byakugan on it and saw three people crouched there, none of which he recognised. One of them had a similar chakra flow to Sakura, though, so he left them.

"Ino!" Shikamaru, who had dragged Ino's body to a bush for cover, yelled to the girl. "Hurry up and get back in your body! You don't wanna get involved in this! You too, Choji! Come on! Get outta there!"

"I'm coming!" Choji called back, running to the bush his best friend was hiding in.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu: KAI!" Ino called, releasing her jutsu. Kin's body fell limb at the purple-loving girl's soul was pulled back. The blonde groaned as she re-entered her body and Shikamaru smiled.

"There you go. Good to have you back." He said reassuringly.

"Shikamaru!" Choji voiced, getting the genius's attention to go from Ino to him. "What's this all about? What's going on?"

"How should I know?" Shikamaru retorted.

Sasuke glared viciously as Zaku as the marks on his body continued to grow and cover more skin. Dosu looked on his shock and fear as the boy's aura turned darker and more menacing by the second.

"Wh-What is this?" He voiced. _'This changes everything. His chakra is too big. He's too powerful! We can't fight that! Only a complete idiot would dare to go up against him!'_

--

"You're a complete idiot!" Tsuki and Taiyoo yelled at the older boy, who was laughing nervously.

"I'm telling you, we're lost." The sun-named twin sighed.

"And I'm telling you, I know where we are!" Juhi defended himself. "The tower is in a general…er…_that way_ direction!" He stated, pointing off in a random direction. Suddenly, he felt as if a pin was stuck in his chest and he frowned, dropping his arm. "Something is very wrong." He mumbled.

"Like what?" The Moon twin frowned. Three figures burst through a bush and one of them fell into Juhi, who instinctively threw the ninja towards a tree. When the smoke cleared, he saw Kiba slumped at the foot of the tree, a goofy smile of his dizzy-looking face.

"You're S-Sakura-chan's b-brother, r-right?" A timid voice squeaked.

"Yeah." Juhi grunted coldly, looking towards Hinata. "What about it."

"G-Go that w-way…" Hinata said, pointing behind them. "Sh-She's hurt r-really b-badly."

"Let's go!" Tsuki ordered, heading in the direction Hinata told them to go, soon followed by his twin and the healer.

"Good luck." Hinata whispered as she and Shino helped Kiba up and the three of them carried on in the opposite direction.

--

"Dosu! What's wrong, you're not getting cold feet, are ya?" Zaku asked, getting his hands ready for his jutsu.

"NO!" Dosu cried out too late. "Zaku! You don't understand!"

"Watch this!" Zaku said boastingly. "I'll take care of the whole bunch of them in one fell swoop! Supersonic slicing wave!" He called. A great sound wave escaped his palms, covering the whole area. Everyone—his team, Neji and Tenten in the tree, team ten in the bush—felt the pressure of the attack. As the pressure dropped, he panted, seeing only a long ditch in the ground where Sasuke once stood. "Heh. What do ya know? I blew them all away."

"Not quite." Sasuke said as he punched Zaku across the clearing to Dosu's feet. He had somehow moved himself, Sakura and Naruto behind the black-haired Genin in the time it took Zaku's jutsu to reach them.

"Zaku!" Dosu called. _'Such speed. He got both of his team mates out of harm's way in the blink of an eye!'_

"Nighty night!" A voice called.

"Sleep tight!" A similar one followed. All of the purple chakra was pulled back into his curse mark and his eyes widened before he fell to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

"Take a nap, you stupid little brat." A snowy-haired teen murmured to the boy as he kicked him to the side. Juhi dropped a piece of paper with the kanji for 'chakra block' on it as the twins ran out from either side of him and hurried over to Sakura.

"You okay?" Tsuki asked while everyone—minus him, Taiyoo and Sakura—looked a Juhi in shock.

"Who's that?" Ino wondered to herself.

"Don't know." Shikamaru replied. "But I think we're about to find out."

"Alright! Which one of you basterds hurt my baby sister?! Huh?!" Juhi snarled viciously. Taiyoo joined him, glaring at every person who moved even the tiniest bit which Tsuki lifted Sakura onto his back.

"I did." Zaku growled, getting up and wiping away a trail of blood from his mouth.

"Juhi-niisan! How did you do that?" Sakura asked, looking at the unconscious Sasuke. Juhi shrugged.

"Taiyoo made a chakra sealing jutsu, and we were just hoping it would work on him. I mean, the stuffing pooling around him was just chakra, right?" Juhi grinned. "Now…what's your name?" He asked Zaku mockingly, as if he were talking to a child.

"Abumi Zaku." The boy stated with a sneer. "Yourself?"

"Haruno Juhi. Or, as you can call me…your WORST NIGHTMARE!" He screamed charging at the Sound-nin, hurling a barrage of weapons in his direction. Zaku managed to send them back with his sound wave, but Juhi was nowhere to be seen. A foot landing in the middle of his back was felt before Zaku was sent towards Taiyoo, who punched him in the face.

"I'm Taiyoo! Hoshi Taiyoo!" He stated cheerfully. "I, along with Juhi and my brother, Tsuki, will be your ass-kickers today. I sincerely hope you're happy with our work!"

"Cha! We tend to be very thorough!" Tsuki yelled as he ran, with Sakura still on his back, towards Zaku and kicked him to Juhi. The older boy picked Zaku up by his neck and punched him in the face, but didn't let go.

"She may be a Leaf now, but Sakura-chan is still my imouto and the true ruler of the Haruno clan. Those who dare beat a clan leader into the ground or even make one bleed are forced to deal with the consequences of such." Juhi stated darkly. Ino gulped slightly, seeing his hands glow with a light blue chakra. "Kanashibari no Jutsu." He muttered.

"I…can't…move." Zaku grunted out. Shikamaru smirked a little.

"Now _that_ is a paralysis jutsu." He said quietly, feeling a little smug and wanting to say that to Dosu's face.

"Heh…and now…Chakra no Mesu!" He called. The blue glow around Juhi's hand sharpened slightly. "Your arms…you seem rather proud of them, and not to mention attached." The boy grinned, moving his free, chakra-covered hand down the joint of Zaku's shoulder. "Now it would be a shame if I severed the joints of your shoulder. It's fixable, eventually, but _very_ painful."

"AAAAHHHHH!" Zaku cried out as his joints was cut right through by Juhi's chakra scalpel. The snowy-haired teen did the same to the other side and then threw him to Dosu, snarling.

"Now…drop your scroll and pick up your team mates." He ordered. Dosu put the scroll down slowly and picked up Zaku, lifting one of his useless arms over his shoulder and supporting him with one arm as he tucked Kin under the other. "Get out of here!"

"Yes, sir." Dosu bowed, running away with his team mates. As soon as he was out of view, Juhi relaxed and ran to his sister.

"Hey, put her down." He told Tsuki. The boy nodded and rested Sakura on the ground. She was lying on her back, biting on her bottom lip as if she was bored. "You okay, squirt?"

"I've been better." Sakura sighed.

"Hey…you guys okay?!" Choji called as he ran out of the bush.

"Ino, you go see Lee. Choji and I will check on the kid." The lazy genius said as he too joined his chubby friend.

"Okay." Ino nodded, going to help the green boy. Neji and Tenten watched from the tree as Shikamaru and Choji slowly moved towards the orange-clad ninja. The brunette then switched his gaze to Sasuke's limp body and his eyes narrowed slightly.

'_That was no normal chakra.'_ Neji thought. _'I had no idea the Uchiha clan was so strong…and if they're that strong, how powerful would the Haruno and Hoshi clans have to be to take him down so easily?'_

"Sakura-chan's in danger…I'll protect her." Naruto muttered in his sleep with a blush and a goofy expression on his face. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, it'll be okay, I'll save you."

"Whoa, somebody ought to kick him and wake him up." Shikamaru stated lazily as he looked down at Naruto. "This guy's embarrassing; I don't know how Sakura can stand him."

"Can I kick him first?" Choji requested slyly.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Ino asked, looking up from Lee to Juhi, who was holding his palm over one of Sakura's more serious injuries.

"Shosen Jutsu." He said, his palm glowing green. The bone slid itself back into Sakura's skin as she winced and it then reattached to the correct joints. The skin patched up too and Juhi moved onto the next area.

"Is he…?" Ino whispered.

"He's healing her." Taiyoo told her, smiling a little. "No big deal, really, since Juhi's been healing since he was seven. Sakura can perform this one too, but only to heal minor stuff like a sprain or a paper cut."

"I've never seen healing jutsus used before." The blonde explained in awe and slight jealousy. She looked to the Star-named twin and blushed a little at his handsomeness. True, he was no Sasuke, but his look was manlier than Sasuke's feminine face.

"Thanks, Juhi." Sakura nodded when all of her serious injuries were healed. She looked over to Sasuke and walked to him, kicking the boy in the side. He grunted and sat up, rubbing his head.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"My brother knocked you out and got rid of the ninja." Sakura explained, walking to the scroll and picking it up before slotting it into her pouch.

"Your injuries…" He noticed.

"Yeah. Juhi-niisan healed them." She told him, frowning at the curse mark on his neck. _'Why him…Why the hell would Orochimaru pick him?'_

"Sakura…what did your brother mean when he called you the true clan leader?" Shikamaru asked, eyeing her reaction. Sakura sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"In my clan, there are two ways to become leader. You can be left leadership by the old clan leader when he or she dies of old age, or you can kill the current one. Let me tell you, my father wasn't all that old when he died." Sakura smirked, seeing their faces.

Akamaru Trembles: Gaara's Cruel Strength!

Naruto screamed as he sat up from a nightmare, a large bump on his head. Shikamaru and Choji were sniggering on either side of him as the Akimichi boy put down his large stick. I'm sure you can guess where the bump came from. The blonde then looked out and saw Sakura and Sasuke sitting together with three people he really didn't like—Juhi, Tsuki and Taiyoo. He then turned and saw Ino helping Lee to his feet.

'_The Grass Ninja!'_ He remembered. "Everybody hide!" Naruto yelled, jumping to the ground. "Quick, get down! That ninja…where could she be hiding?"

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, turning and looking at the boy. Her choppy hair was ruffled slightly by the wind and she batted one of her long bangs out of her face.

'_It's about time the lazy fool woke up.'_ Ino thought with a sigh and an annoyed look. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt something poking his bump; Choji had come back with his stick.

"You really are one of a kind; that's for sure." Shikamaru told him with anything but a complimenting tone. "And I mean…your kind gets on my nerves."

"Mmhmm." Choji agreed with a nod. Naruto, now annoyed, looked back to Sakura and the others and noticed, for the first time, her new haircut.

"Oh no! Sakura-chan!" He called, getting up and running to her.

"What?" She asked in annoyance.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" He said over and over again, further increasing her annoyance. "What happened to your-? I mean, something serious happened to you…to your hair!" He told her, kneeling down in between her and Sasuke.

"Oh, that's all." She smiled a little. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I fool you not! Sakura smiled and the consequence was; blushing Naruto, gulping Sasuke, smiling Yuki-nin, confused Ino, and Choji and Shikamaru weren't looking.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"I just wanted to…change my look." She lied, not wanting to tell Naruto of how she got beaten. The girl didn't notice the frowns over the faces of Ino, Sasuke, the twins and her brother. "I liked it better long, but when I'm out in the wilderness and moving around all the time; it gets in the way too much." She told him as Shikamaru and Choji walked up to them.

"So, what's your story?" Naruto asked them. "Why've you guys come here in the first place? What's going on around here?" He wondered. Both boys sighed.

"Explaining everything to you is going to be such a pain." Shikamaru said, not really wanting to bother. Luckily for him, Sakura saved him the trouble.

"Everyone just showed up to help." She stated sadly.

"What?" Naruto asked, turning back to her. Ino smiled.

'_Sakura's sure showing a lot of emotion. Maybe she found comfort in Naruto or something. I don't exactly approve of him, but if he can open her up…he's gotta be some kind of guy.'_ The blonde though in surprise, but the real shock came when Tenten suddenly jumped down in front of her.

"I'll take care of him now, Ino." She said, looking at Lee and really ignoring the weaker kunoichi.

"Uhh, okay." Ino permitted, handing her the boy. Tenten smiled sweetly at him for a moment before…

"COME ON, LEE! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!" She yelled, shaking him roughly by the shoulders. "SNAP OUT OF IT ALREADY! ALRIGHT?!" She finished, dropping him to his knees. Lee groaned and looked up at her.

"Tenten, is that you?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you out." She explained. "What do you think?"

"Wha-? Where are those Sound ninja guys?" He wondered, looking around.

"Sakura's brother took care of them. He may look kinda cute and sweet, but when he saw her injured he just snapped. Scarier than those B-rank ninja we encountered on that C-ranked mission out of the village." She shuddered.

"Really?" He said, looking to the white-haired, blue-eyed seventeen-year-old. Tenten sighed and crouched down in front of him as he fell back and sat on ground.

"Just what were you thinking? Rushing in there all by yourself; you're a total mess." Tenten sighed.

"Well…Sakura-san was in trouble so…I had to do something, right?" He replied meekly and slightly unsurely. It had felt like the right thing to do at the time, at least.

'_He got to be kidding! He had to know he didn't stand a chance alone in here against all those guys.'_ Tenten thought to herself with a frown, concerned about Lee. "That was pretty darn stupid, don't you think?" She scolded.

"Well, I guess I cannot really argue with that." Lee admitted pitifully as he drew his knees up to his chin.

"Ah ha!" Naruto said in 'great' realisation. "I know you, _bushy-brow_!" He mocked. Sakura looked at him and glared viciously.

"HEY!" She yelled. Everyone stopped and looked at her as she snarled in Naruto's direction. "You're my friend, Naruto, but you better stop bad-mouthing Lee." The girl said. "Once more comment like that and I'll pound you into the ground, you got that?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am." He muttered in fear. _'What in the world happened while I was asleep? Everything's gone all crazy and upside-down!'_

"Ugh, that Naruto's completely out of the loop." Shikamaru sighed.

"So far out that he doesn't even know there _is_ a loop." Choji added with a pitying look on his face.

"Lee." Sakura called to the boy, who was still staring at her in shock of her defence over him. "…Okay, I'm gonna put it to you this way; I _suck_ at thanking people. I've never really done this before so…thanks. For helping me out. If it wasn't for you…I'd have been dead. Thank you." She said, getting on her knees. From her kneeling position, Sakura bent forward from the waist, placing the hands palms down on the floor in front of the body, with the fingers facing. Lee gasped at the shin bow, for it was only supposed to be performed to teachers and superiors.

"S-Sakura-san…I…" He stuttered. Everyone else looked positively amazed by her show of respect to a boy she had seemed disgusted with only days before. "I...I guess my efforts alone were not good enough."

"Don't worry about it." She said with a slight tilt of her head. "I couldn't defeat them either. So, it was a good think my big brother showed up in time, right Juhi-niisan?"

"Yeah, yeah." Juhi waved off with a big grin. "It would have been easy to leave it to the overconfident Uchiha."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, but he acknowledged the subtle glare the white-haired Haruno sent him that told him to back up off his sister.

"To chase off those ninja, you must be very strong." Lee realised, looking down in disappointment. "I was not strong at all. I just got beaten to a pulp."

'_What's he talking about? Beaten to a pulp?'_ Sasuke wondered, looking in shock at Juhi, who had knocked him out and beaten them up in less than five minutes. _'Were those guys really that strong? But…If Sakura is stronger than her brother…just how strong __**is**__ she?'_

"Sakura." Lee called.

"Hmm?" Sakura asked when he had her attention.

"The lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice." He riddled. "When we meet again, I will have become a stronger ninja!" The boy smiled. "I promise."

"Yeah…me too." Sakura agreed.

"HEY SAKURA!" Ino called from across the clearing.

"What?" Sakura questioned back.

"Come over here! I wanna fix your hair for you, okay?" She offered as Sakura regarded her with a suspicious look.

"…Sure." She shrugged, walking over and kneeling in front of Ino as the girl made the back of her choppy hair neater. It was still very short, the same length as Kiba's.

"Turn around so that I can do the bangs." Ino said, but gasped in shock when Sakura just stood up and ran her fingers through the collar-bone-length locks. She smiled slightly.

"Nah! I like this look." Sakura told her, smirking and sorting her bangs out so that they would frame her face rather than fall over her eyes. Neji looked down on all of them from his branch and he frowned.

'_Uchiha Sasuke…he must a stronger opponent than I could have imagined for him to emit that chakra.'_ The Hyuuga boy admitted to himself. _'But the Haruno boy…and those Hoshi twins…they must be much more advanced in power than I realised for them to have taken down Sasuke and defeated the Sound ninja so easily.'_

--

Somewhere else in the forest, Team Ten were crouched around a trembling puppy as Akamaru covered his head with his paws. He looked terrified and Kiba was really worried about his friend. Hinata, being her usual caring self, was trying to cover the guilt she felt for leaving Sakura behind by thinking up ways to comfort Akamaru. Shino was just looking at the puppy, wondering why he was shaking.

"Hey, Akamaru, you okay?" Kiba asked softly as he rubbed his hand gently over the puppy's head. Akamaru just whimpered more.

"Is he still shaking? He's been at it for half a day already." Shino noted, looking down on Akamaru.

"Akamaru." Hinata whispered soothingly, but it was in vain as the pup continued to tremble.

"I don't blame him. It's because of what he saw when we left those ninja to find Sakura and the others." Kiba remembered.

--

_Team Ten was jumping through the forest at top speed, aiming to be at the tower as soon as possible._

"_Aha! I knew we'd be the ones to survive this! Right, Akamaru?" Kiba stated confidently._

"_Arf!" The little puppy by his side agreed._

"_Of course, it's luck for us that the people caught in that trap had an Earth scroll. And now, we're going to be the first ones to reach the tower." He howled in joy._

"_Don't get overconfident. That's a dangerous mistake to make." Shino warned him. "No matter how small a bug is, it still has to guard itself at all times. We have to make sure that we don't encounter any enemies. That's the only way to be safe."_

"_Yeah, I know that, Shino." Kiba huffed. "But, as usual, you've got to say it in a vague, weird way. Bug nerd!" He insulted. Shino growled and Hinata knew she had to stop the upcoming fight._

"_Y-Yeah, but…Kiba-kun…Wh-What Sh-Shino-kun said…h-he does k-kind of h-have a point, y-you know?" She told him._

"_Yeah, I know, just come on!" Kiba sighed in an irritated voice._

'_**I sure hope that Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are okay.'**__ Hinata thought to herself through her guilt. Akamaru smelt something and, not a second later, Kiba picked it up as well. The boy landed on a branch with his canine companion and signalled to the other to stop._

"_Hold on, you guys. We have to stop." He told them. Shino landed to his left and Hinata to his right, both of them wondering what had caused the hold up._

"_Why?" Shino asked, still sore from the 'Bug nerd' comment._

"_We're being careful not to encounter any enemies, right?" Kiba questioned. "Alright, Hinata, I want you to check out a kilometre ahead in that direction." He ordered, pointed in front of them and slightly to the left._

"_Right." Hinata nodded. "Here goes…Byakugan!" She called, charka veins appearing around her eyes. She looked ahead and frowned. "Yes. I s-see somebody th-there a-alright."_

"_Hmm." Shino hummed in thought. He lowered himself to the wood of the tree branch and placed his ear on the bark._

"_It sounds like there are…six people there." Shino told them._

"_Alright…let's check it out!" Kiba cheered._

"_Wh-What?" Hinata stuttered in concern._

"_Kiba!" Shino said in a scolding tone. "What're you talking about? We're not going to do that." He told the boy, not noticing Hinata's sign of relief._

"_Why not?" The dog-nin mused. "The administrator said we had to get a Heaven and an Earth scroll, right? But she didn't say we couldn't take more than that. If we have more scrolls, that'll mean that there're fewer to go around and more teams will be cut out of the competition. Ha!"_

"_B-But-" Hinata began, pleadingly._

"_Look, first we'll just check it out, okay?" Kiba assured her. "If it looks too dangerous, we won't battle them. Now come on! Let's go!" He cheered, jumping in the direction of the six enemy ninja._

"_He's the kind of guy that even the hungriest insects would avoid." The bug-nin sighed, going after his team mate._

"_O-Oh…" Hinata muttered, seeing that her opinion wasn't wanted. She jumped after the boys and they all landed in a bush overlooking the six ninja, but as soon as they touched down, Akamaru began to shake._

"_What's wrong, Akamaru?" Kiba asked._

"_Wh-What happened?" Hinata questioned in a concerned voice. "Y-You just st-stopped a-all of a s-sudden." She noted as Akamaru got up and crawled inside Kiba's jacket, popping his head out at the neck._

"_Yeah; something just spooked the little guy." Kiba said, worried about his dog._

"_Wh-What…s-scared him?" She asked, looking at Akamaru._

"_I don't know." Kiba admitted. "Akamaru has the ability to sniff out chakra, and the only time I've seen him back up a bit was when Sakura first entered Konoha. But...even then, I've never seen him this scared before. Whoever those ninja up ahead are…they aren't normal guys."_

"_Do you believe the nerve of these Sand Village ninja, Shigure, Baiu; challenging up head-on?" The ninja to the left of Shigure asked in an annoyed tone._

"_Yeah, Midari is right!" Baiu, standing to the right of Shigure, agreed with a sneer. "They're a bunch of fools." He added. Shigure observed the three as Gaara, Temari and Kankuro did the same to him and his team._

"_What's he thinking?" Kiba asked aloud, looking at Gaara. "That kid's way too little to take on an opponent that big." He then noticed that Akamaru's whimpering had grown and he listened to what his dog said before he clenched his teeth._

"_Wh-What…did A-Akamaru s-say?" Hinata asked, unable to understand dog._

"_That the big guy…he is __**big**__ trouble." Kiba translated._

'_**They all look like they're bad news to me…like they're all really strong.'**__ Hinata thought mournfully._

"_Too bad, kids." Shigure hummed. "You should learn to pick your opponents better. Now you're all gonna die!"_

"_I've heard enough out of you." Gaara sighed, clearly bored. "Let's make this quick, I don't wanna waste any more time. There's someone I want to talk to in the tower, and this is pointless."_

'_**We don't even know what scroll these guys have.'**__ Kankuro realised with a frown. "Hey, Gaara!" He called._

"_What is it?" The younger boy asked, not turning around._

"_Well…doesn't it make more sense to follow these punks and gather information first?" He suggested, even though it was much too late for that. "I mean, if they have the same scroll as us, we're just fighting an unnecessary battle."_

"_I don't care." Gaara stated. "They looked at me the wrong way…so they're gonna die."_

'_**This is exactly why I didn't want to be stuck in a forest with him for any amount of time.'**__ Kankuro thought with a wince._

"_If you think you can kill us…" Shigure trailed off, pulling six wooden umbrellas off of his back. "Just try it!" He dared before he threw all six of them into the air. "And now…Joro Senbon!" He called as the umbrellas spunk, releasing senbon by the thousand._

'_**A rainstorm of needles!'**__ Hinata realised in shock. Gaara just blinked._

"_Up, down, left, right…no matter where you go, I can get you." Shigure smirked. "There's no blind-spot in this jutsu. And it's deadly accurate! So try to escape!" He called as the needles landed on Gaara, lifting up a cloud of dirt from the force of the impact. __**'Hah! Child's play.'**__ The man smirked as the dirt cloud began to fall. His uninjured eye widened upon seeing Gaara unscratched, covered in a cocoon of sand._

"_Is that all you've got?" He asked mockingly._

"_It…can't be! Not one wound!" Shigure said in shock, only just realising what he was up against. "Impossible! ...Alright." He put his hands in the tiger seal and directed more needles at the gap in Gaara's armour. Sand just rose and defended him again._

"_A senbon rainstorm, huh?" Gaara mused with a frown. "I have an good idea. Let's make it rain blood instead."_

"_Man, his chakra's so powerful…" Kiba trailed off in awe. "And his sand…do you smell that odour? It stinks."_

"_Odour?" Shino repeated in question as he and Hinata turned to Kiba._

"…_It smells like blood." Kiba told them._

"_He's created a wall of sand!" Shigure noted in shock._

"_That's right." Kankuro nodded. "It's a defence, and nothing can get through it. He carries around all that sand in the gourd he has on his back, and when he's attacked, he uses the power of his chakra to harden the sand. It's a jutsu that only Gaara can do, and somehow it happens automatically, independent of his will. So those who attack against him are doomed to fail." As Kankuro spoke, Gaara's sand fell into grains around his feet._

"_Yeah?" Shigure growled. "Well, we'll see!"_

"_Just face it; you guys can't hope to defeat Gaara." He yawned._

"_Yeah right." He denied, running forwards. Gaara brought his hands together and Temari and Kankuro smirked._

'_**That punk's a dead man.'**__ Kankuro thought._

'_**He was warned about not fighting Gaara.'**__ Temari sighed._

"_Sabaku Kyu!" Gaara called, holding one hand out towards the approaching Rain-nin. His sand leapt up and covered Shigure from head to toe, leaving only his face visible._

"_I…can't move." He admitted, struggling to no avail. The ninja of his team and of team ten were shocked and Shigure's umbrellas, now without his chakra, fell to the ground._

"_Hey…lemme go!" He demanded. Gaara walked to one of the umbrellas and held the handle firmly._

"_All I have to do is cover your big mouth and you're dead." He told the fearful man. The boy pulled the umbrella out of the ground and opened it, holding it above his head as he used the other hand to control the sand around the man's body. "But that would be too easy and too boring." He added as he moved his hand, causing the sand around the man to lift Shigure into the air._

"_NO! Let me go!" The man screamed when he stopped moving. He looked at Gaara's hand and saw it clench._

"_Sabaku Sousou." He said. The sand tightened suddenly, not even giving the man enough time to scream before his body was crush by the sand until all that was left of him was equal sized grains. His team and team ten were scared to death of what Gaara was capable of. The blood rained and Gaara was protected from it by the umbrella, but the other Rain ninja weren't._

"_Oh, Kami-sama." One muttered as they were covered in the remnants of their team mate._

"_There wasn't any pain. I crushed him with more force than necessary, so it was over quickly. The corpse is bitter crimson tears flowing in with the endless sand, feeding the chaos within me; making me stronger." He said calmly. The ninja back off in fear._

"_Just take the scroll." Midari permitted, placing a Heaven scroll on the ground and backing away. "Go on, here."_

"_Yes, take it!" Baiu agreed. "Please spare us!" He begged. Gaara tossed aside the umbrella and held out both of his hands, covering the two ninja in sand in the same way as he did with Shigure. They whimpered and pleaded to be set free, but Gaara showed no remorse as he activated his Sabaku Sousou._

"_Man, this is bad." Kiba realised as he turned. Shino turned too, but Hinata was paralyzed in her couched position, her eyes closed tightly and her hands over her ears. "We'd better get out of here, before he finds and kills us!" He said, breaking Hinata out of her trance. She turned too and the three of them began to crawl away._

"_We got lucky, it's a Heaven scroll." Kankuro smiled as he picked it up and pocketed it. "Alright, now let's head to the tower."_

"_Just shut up." Gaara growled. "It's not…" He turned towards the bush Kiba, Shino and Hinata were slowly fleeing from. "It's still not enough for me." He said as they froze, feeling him staring in their direction._

'_**Oh no, did he see us?!'**__ Kiba panicked. __**'If he did, we're done for!'**_

"_Come on, Gaara, let's go." Kankuro said with a casual smile._

"_What are you, scared? Coward." Gaara accused._

"_Look, Gaara. I know this test is no problem for you, but it's dangerous for Temari and me." He informed the younger boy. "One set of scrolls is good enough. It's all we need to pass."_

"_Losers…can't tell me what to do." Gaara said as he lifted his hand. The older boy glared at Gaara as he grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground slightly._

"_Alright, that's enough." He growled, his pride getting the better of him as he continued to glare. "Sometimes, you have to listen to what your big brother says."_

"_It's too bad I don't think of you as my big brother at all." Gaara told him, never loosing his calmness. "If you get in my way, I'll kill you." He said as he batted Kankuro's hand away from him. He lifted his hand again to the bush team ten were in._

"_Wait." Temari cut in, holding up her hands. "Just hold on, Gaara. You don't have to treat us as if we're the enemy. Look, do it as a favour for your sister." She smiled, putting her hands together. "Please?" She begged, but Gaara did nothing more than move his hand towards Kankuro, then back towards the bush. Sand started collecting near his hand._

_Hinata whimpered, hearing the sand move. Shino gritted his teeth and gulped slightly. The sand around Gaara's hand got thicker. Kiba turned in shock._

"_Gaara!" Temari called as Gaara clenched his hand. Kankuro had his eyes closed, but all that had happened was Gaara finding his cork for his gourd._

"_Alright, this time." Gaara said, sounding bored again. He reached behind him and put the cork into his gourd and turned away from the bush, walking away._

'_**Yeah…that's why I hate brats.'**__ Kankuro revealed as he and Temari breathed a sigh of relief. Just before they followed him, a stream of sand shot out between them and into the bush. As it came back, Hinata was frozen in it's grasp. Kiba and Shino shot out of the bush, but stopped when Gaara released the sand and turned._

"_You know a girl with pink hair." He stated, even though it was probably supposed to be a question. Neither Kiba nor Shino replied, for it was obvious he was speaking to Hinata._

"_Y-Y-Yes." She squeaked, nodding rapidly._

"_Tell me…what do you know of her?" He questioned._

"_Her name is Haruno Sakura." Shino answered for her, seeing as Hinata's words had been lost in her throat._

"_She came to Konoha when she was ten." Kiba added. "Judging from the way she smelt, I'd say she lived in Yukigakure before then, and moved around a bit too before she came to the Hidden Leaf Village."_

"_H-H-He-Herr brother a-an-and old t-t-team mates a-are-are in t-th-the Chunin e-ex-exa-ams." Hinata concluded._

"_I see." Gaara sighed, turning again and walking away, his brother and sister following after him. Team ten were left behind, all relieved that they had been spared._

"_I guess we know now why you were so freaked out." Kiba said to his puppy, who was still hiding in his coat. "I just wish you would have said something sooner."_

--

"No…No one's here." Hinata realised, looking around the tower.

"Haha!" Kiba laughed with a wide grin. "We're the first!"

"No…I'm sure that I sensed someone here a little while ago." Shino told him. Hinata bent slightly to look at Akamaru, who hadn't moved from Kiba's jacket. She stroked his cheek.

"More importantly…I-Is A-Akamaru o-okay?" The Hyuuga heiress asked her dog-nin team mate. "The poor little guy's been so scared for so long."

"Come to think of it, what _did_ Akamaru say before?" Shino asked.

"Well…I guess he must have been saying that the bigger ninja was in trouble because the pipsqueak was going to kill him." Kiba told them.

"Just like I thought, there's no other place to go!" They heard someone's voice echo from the hallway.

"We've already been here half a day; how much longer are they going to make us wait?" A girl asked. Three ninja entered the room team ten were in, showing themselves to be Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. As the three ninja passed them, Temari and Kankuro smirked at their stiffened forms in pride. Gaara glanced at them briefly out of the corner of his eye and all of them stiffened even more out of fear. He looked away and they relaxed slightly, but were still afraid.

'_I don't know what that Suna squirt is, but whatever he is, he's way too dangerous to mess with.'_ Kiba frowned as he watched Gaara and his team leave. _'He's bad news…and I hope he's not interested in Sakura only for a fight, because I don't think even __**she**__ can beat him.'_

--

"This is turning into a real mess." Anko sighed from her room at the top of the tower. There were two ANBU in the room with her. "But, there's no way we can cancel the test." She bit her lip.

"What do you mean?" One of the ANBU asked. The door slid open and a Chunin in a grey uniform entered.

"Sorry to interrupt." He apologised.

"Huh? What do you want?" Anko frowned at him. "We're talking about something important."

"Uhh, I'm sorry…but…it's this tape. You have to see it." He said, walking in with a tape in his hand. He put it into the player and turned on the TV, watching the screen. "Okay, now, when you watch this, pay special attention to the time." The screen changed and they saw Gaara, Temari and Kankuro walking around the tower. At the bottom, the time read 16:07. Anko frowned and gasped in realisation.

"Huh? But that means…" She trailed off.

"That's right, Anko-san." The Chunin said. "This was recorded from _inside_ the tower. It's unbelievable. Those ninja finished only an hour and thirty-seven minutes after the test started. They completely destroyed the record for finishing the second test."

"Wha..?" Anko whispered breathlessly. "That's impossible."

"It took just ninety-seven minutes. Nothing like this has ever happened before." He acknowledged. "No one's even come close. Those ninja, from the Sand Village…are _way_ above Genin level. They beat the record by four hours."

"I'm afraid it's not just that." Anko, who was now standing in between the two ANBU, said. The man looked at her over his shoulder.

"I don't get it…what do you mean?" He asked.

"It's ten kilometres from the test entrance gates to the tower, and in between are ferocious animals, poisonous insects, and not to mention the other ninja. Could they really have avoided all those things?" She asked, but mostly herself. "Especially the red-haired kid in the front."

"What's so special about him?" The Chunin asked, looking back at the tape while Anko moved to look out of her window.

"You mean you didn't see?" She questioned.

"Interesting." One ANBU mused.

"That is quite a surprise." The other agreed.

"I still don't get it. What am I supposed to be seeing here?" The Chunin asked, looking again at Anko.

"It's what you're not seeing. Look closely at his body." She informed him, looking at the man out of the corner of her eye for a reaction. He looked back to the screen and observed Gaara completely before smiling.

"I see it now." He realised.

"Not a single scratch, and I haven't even been able to spot one little spec of dirt on his clothing." Anko frowned again.

'_Not even I…no, none of the Chunin could make it back to the tower without a scratch.'_ He thought to himself, his eyes widening. _'It's impossible.'_

"He must have some kind of special ability." One ANBU remarked.

"It's been a long time since we've had such a promising candidate." The other commented. "But his eyes are pure evil."

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updates, but I've been busy with coursework and my GCSE exams. So, for at least another five weeks, updates will be slow. Don't give up, becasue I promise that when the Summer Holidays come, I'll update faster! Enjoy the story and tell me if you want to see a picture of Sakura's new look :D**


	19. Peaking, Clones and Emotions!

**Hi! Shadow Quil here! I am so sorry that this update took so long. I wanted to get one up before my first mocks in Year 11, so here it is! I'll try to update as soon as possible, but don't expect them as quickly as I did at the beginning. Hopefully, there won't be more than a month between update, and if there is all someone needs to do is yell at me or send me a PM and I'll try to write more. I will not be giving tiny, five-page chapters that take five minutes to write, becasue then the quality is generally lacking. So, sorry again for taking so long and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Bye!**

**P.S. Thanks to all the readers who have stayed with me through all of this waiting! You guys rock!**

Chapter Nineteen

The Scroll's Secrets; No Peeking Allowed

Naruto grinned as he looked down on the calm river, full of peaceful fish just minding their own business. Behind the blonde were three Kage bunshins, all donned in what he was wearing; green boxers. The blonde had created them in hopes of catching more fish.

"Breakfast time." The four Narutos chimed together. "Kage Bunshin fishing jutsu!" He called. "Bombs away!" And with that, the four jumped down from the small ledge above the river and made a big splash. Sasuke was stood on the edge, kunai in hand.

The Narutos swam through the water, as quickly as they could without disturbing the fish too badly. He caught one and threw it up, where Sasuke noticed it. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed and he threw a kunai at it, nailing it to a tree. This happened again with two more fish before Naruto popped out of the water, gasping for breath and glaring at the pompous boy on land.

"Well?" Sasuke asked, putting a hand on his hip. "Come on. Is that it? I only got three. Now, go and do it again."

"What?!" Naruto screamed at him, his hair spiking more in anger.

"I could eat three fish myself." He told the fuming blonde.

"Well, if you think it's so easy, why don't _you_ get wet and _I'll_ stand on the shore?!" Naruto yelled. The boys heard a splash and turned to see one of the twins, they weren't sure which, diving into the water. The other one was on shore, just like Sasuke, with kunai. Five fish came flying up and the twin pinned them to the tree. The two them switched, so that the other one was on shore, and they caught another five.

"You've only got three, huh?" One twin asked as he got out of the water with a grin. Both twins were wet, with water dripping down their bare chests.

"Well, that should be enough for one of you." The other twin laughed. "I don't know which. But, we Yuki-nin—Sakura-chan included—will be having our fill." He smirked.

"Taiyoo-kun! Tsuki-kun!" Sakura called from further up. "What's taking you two so long? I've already got the fire up and Juhi-niisan set up a spit for us to cook the fish." She told them. Sakura had decided that a baggy jumper and lots of black wasn't suitable for the heat, apparently, and had used a kunai to cut her shorts and top into a sport-bra-style top and shorts that were still slightly baggy, but only just reached past mid-thigh.

"Sa-Sakura-chan!" Naruto gaped. She had only just done these modifications to her clothes, after all, and he only just saw.

"What, Naruto?" She asked in a bored. Naruto didn't say anything, but noticed that she called the twins with a '-kun' and gave him no suffix. He was pouting now.

"We've got the fish, Sakura-chan." Tsuki smiled.

"Yeah, ten of them! And your _team mates_ only caught three!" Taiyoo added with another laugh.

"We have to do _everything_ around here." The other twin sighed, walking with Sakura and Taiyoo back to camp. Naruto and Sasuke were both glaring at him.

"Grrrrr! Those stupid twins!" Naruto growled. "What do they think _we've_ been doing?! Work! That's what!"

--

There were three fires going. Two of the fires had five fish surrounding them, and the last only had three. Juhi laughed when he noticed that, but said nothing after Sakura glared at him. She was, after all, the one in charge of cooking said fish, and he wanted one that wasn't burnt, or dirty, or undercooked, or just plain gross.

"It's already been four days since the second exam began." Sasuke stated in his you-all-suck-for-making-me-wait-to-win voice. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You think we don't know that?" She asked, frowning at him and poking the fire to keep it alight.

"Well, we're sure not gonna break any records, and we've only got twenty four hours left." He went on.

"I wonder how many other teams have already gotten through and finished." Juhi thought aloud. He was sat behind his sister, so she was in between his legs. At first, Naruto was going to complain, but then thought how sad he would seem if he acted jealous of her _brother_ of all people.

'_**I**__ wonder when my fish is going to be done! I'm starving!'_ The blonde thought with a hungry grin.

'_If we don't get a miracle or something soon, we're finished.'_ Sasuke frowned, looking at his earth scroll and then at the forest.

'_Almost done…if I'm fast, I can grab the biggest one before any of the others get it.'_ Naruto continued his greedy thoughts.

--

Everyone was eating a fish slowly, keeping it going for as long a possible; they had no clue when they might eat next. Sasuke and Juhi noticed that Sakura's eyes flicked towards the forest every now and again, but other than that everything was normal. Taiyoo was on his second fish, and Tsuki was on his third. Naruto had been given Sakura's second fish, while Sasuke, Juhi and the pinkette herself settled for one each.

"We have to face it. Maybe there's not any more heaven scrolls left." The girl of the group stated, lowering her half-eaten fish.

"Well, that's a cheerful thought." Sasuke rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his own fish and looking towards Naruto with jealousy for receiving another water-breather to satisfy his appetite.

"It may be pessimistic, but it's true." Sakura sighed. "Look, you said it yourself, Uchiha. This is the fourth day we've been out here and still, all we've done is fight and get _nothing_. That means we've already used up 80 percent of the time we were given for the exam."

"Only thirteen teams can pass, because there are only thirteen pairs of heaven and earth scrolls." Taiyoo picked up.

"Right. And you've got twenty six teams, seventy eight candidates, out looking for them." She frowned. Naruto stopped eating and looked at her uncertainly. "And if those odds weren't bad enough, you've got that creepy he-she who burnt the heaven scroll we had and ate his…or her own scroll."

"Only twelve full pairs." Naruto calculated. Sakura looked at him and smiled briefly.

"Yeah…not to mention all the pairs that have been found and secured by other teams since then." She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, working out their chanced.

"Maybe we gave ourselves too much time to rest and recover from our last fight." Sasuke thought out-loud. "I don't know. What I _do_ know, is that we've got to try harder than ever to pass this thing now."

"Wait…don't _you guys_ have a heaven scroll?" Naruto asked, eying the Yuki-nin across the fire from him, Tsuki glared and ripped off the last bit of his fish from the bones before standing up.

"Yeah, we do. And if it was just Sakura with some other people, we'd happily give her the scroll. However, I don't like you guys." He snarled.

"I think we should leave. All we're doing is holding you back." Taiyoo acknowledged.

"Yeah. See ya later, sis." Juhi smiled. Sakura nodded back and the Yuki-nin jumped off in the direction of the tower.

"Now that they're gone, we can make up for lost time." Sasuke said, glad to be rid of those 'foreign ninja scum', as he called them. "The next enemy we face could be our last chance." He got up, holding their water canteen in his hand. "I'm gonna get water." The boy stated, walking away from his team. Sakura frowned as his back before looking at Naruto, who sighed and looked at the scroll. He picked it up and turned to the pinkette.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." He said. "I know how we can do this without having to fight _anyone_."

"How?" She asked, humouring him. Naruto pulled his hip-pouch round in front of him and dug through it, before tipping at least seven scrolls onto the ground between him and Sakura.

"Look." Naruto said, holding up for her to see.

"Look a what?" Sakura huffed.

"What do you mean, 'look at what'?" He grinned. "Scrolls. I've got tons of them! You know, like manuals on ninjutsu and stuff like that."

"So?" She twitched, getting an idea of where this was going.

"We could change one of these to look like the heaven scroll." He told her.

"Stop!" Sakura warned, holding her hand out. "Don't even think about doing something so stupid."

"Huh?" Naruto whined. He thought it was a brilliant plan.

"Even if you could fake the outside, how do you fake what's written inside of it, baka?" She growled, glaring at him. "You couldn't know without reading it, and that's against the rules."

"I've got it all figured out!" Naruto cheered. "I've got a feeling that they've got a secret code written in that that would only make sense when they're put together. Yeah…and that secret code it what you need to get into the tower at the end of the exam." He realised, getting closer to her so that their faces were almost touching. "Get it?"

"I…uhh…" Sakura stuttered, noticing how close they were.

'_**Kiss him!'**_ Inner cheered.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, getting even closer to her slightly reddening face. "Are you sick?"

"No." Sakura said bluntly, pushing him away. _'I will not kiss him, and that's final.'_ She concluded. "We've just never even had a heaven scroll, so I don't get how we're going to fake what's inside the damn thing."

"Well…I…oh…" Naruto mumbled in disappointment, not quite having thought the whole thing through. "But wait…we do have the earth scroll."

"So what?" She frowned, seeing seriousness all over his face. _'He actually looks…kinda cute when he's being serious.'_ Sakura almost smiled, but then mentally slapped herself.

'_**And look at his chest! Muscles like you wouldn't believe for a ramen-lover like him!'**_ Inner drooled.

"We could open it and…" He trailing off, seeing her glare.

"You wouldn't." She dared.

"It's our only chance. I'm gonna open and read this scroll." He said in a determined voice.

"No!" She said, '_gently'_ hitting him on the head. "Don't you know what forbidden means?"

"I know, but…" He didn't finish, looking at her with water eyes and a goofy pleading look on his face.

'_Forget serious. That's the face I fell in love with.'_ Sakura realised, but then her eyes widened. _'Uhh, I mean-'_

'_**I heard you! You love him! You love him!'**_ Inner Sakura chanted happily.

'_Oh! Shut up! I admit it. Okay?!'_ She blushed. Naruto saw this, but didn't comment. Sakura snapped at him last time.

"If we don't do anything, we'll never make it!" Naruto said as an excuse while nursing his sore head. Sakura looked down at the ground in deep thought, though Naruto believed that she was considering his plan. He looked at a blank scroll that looked a lot like the heaven scroll.

--

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death, a team of true cheaters were looking at their earth scroll, while one held it with shaking hands. Two boys, both Konoha ninja, nodded at each other and one moved his thumb to slick open the scroll.

"Careful." His friend warned. "It might be booby trapped or something."

"Yeah." The other agreed shakily. "I thought of that." And without another word, he flicked open the scroll.

--

Back with Naruto and Sakura, the blonde had picked up the earth scroll, ready to open it. He didn't, though, until he got some kind of confirmation from Sakura. She was glaring at him, telling him not to do it. However, Naruto truly believed this to be his only option. His thumb travelled over the opening.

"Wait." Sakura said calmly, walking over to him.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?" He asked, turning and seeing that she was right next to him.

"I don't want you doing that, and I don't want to be around for the aftermath of such a mistake." She sighed.

"Okay, fine. Whatever." Naruto glared, thinking she was betraying him somehow by not supporting what he wanted to do. "Then just go away and-" He was cut off by something on his lips. Something soft. His eyes widened when he realised that it was Sakura's lips, and that she was kissing him. Naruto's eyes then closed and his mind soared with the feeling of kissing the girl of his dreams. Suddenly and much too abruptly, the feeling was over and Sakura was pulling away.

"I…I think I like you, Naruto-kun." She told him, her face frowning.

"Yeah…me too…" Naruto said confused. "But, Sakura-chan!" However, before he got his question out, she was running into the woods. The boy felt his lips and then looked down at the scroll. "She wouldn't want me to." He decided, putting it back down.

"Good choice." A voice from the woods commended.

--

The team opened their scroll.

Their screams could be heard by their third team mate, who dropped the food he had gathered and ran to their aid. When he got there, they were both unconscious. After looking around, the teenager ran forwards to check on them.

"Hey, guys! What's wrong? Guys?" He asked in concern, but received no answer. Looking to the side, he saw the scroll on the ground and slightly open. "Wh-What's the scroll doing here? If it was a ninja attack, they would've taken it. What happened? What did you guys do?!"

--

"Who's there?!" Naruto demanded, standing up and tightening his grip on the scroll. Kabuto stepped out of the shadows of the trees, a smirk on his face as he adjusted his glasses. He walked towards Naruto and stared at him, as if mentally scolding the younger boy for even thinking about trying to open the scroll.

Sasuke was walking back at that point, and saw Kabuto with Naruto. He also saw that Sakura was no where near them and jumped to the wrong conclusions.

'_An enemy!'_ He thought. So, the boy ran forwards, throwing the water canteen to the side.

--

"Little Saku, Little Saku, where are you?" A voice sang out mockingly to the young pinkette as she walked into a clearing. She frowned and didn't reply, getting a playful whine from the other person. "You're supposed to reply; 'Here I am! Here I am! How do you do?', Sakura-chan!"

"I don't do singing, or rhyming." She growled as a blonde and a redhead stepped out of the trees.

"But you do seem to lip-lock, un!" Deidara grinned, although it seemed a bit forced. She glared harshly at him and huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How about one for your good pal Dei-chan, un?" He asked, puckering up and pointing to his mouth.

"Good pal? I don't think so." Sakura rejected.

"Aww, but the Kyuubi brat got one." He pouted. "It's only fair that everyone gets one. Or, if you want, you could just give me Sasori-danna's, and Itachi-teme's, and Kisame-san's, etc."

"That's none of your business!" Sakura stated with a sneer. Sasori stepped forwards and shook his head.

"Actually, it _is_. You remember your mission?" He asked coldly.

"…To capture the Kyuubi's host and deliver the Jinchuuriki to Itachi and Kisame, ready for the extraction of the Bijuu." Sakura muttered, spitting the words as if they were poison in her mouth.

"Now, you want that seal removed, right?" Deidara asked darkly.

"I…Yes." She admitted.

"Then you'll do as you're told." The redhead smirked. Sakura growled under her breath and glared up at them.

"Fuck you." She said quietly.

"Care to repeat that, un?" Deidara asked in warning.

"I said; Fuck YOU!" She screamed, throwing kunai and shuriken at them, but both dodged easily.

"Let's see here, un." The blonde said as he grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. Sasori appeared in front of her and created a clone, which he used the Henge jutsu on to change into a mirror image of herself. The redhead then created another clone that Henged into Naruto.

"Dattebayo!" Sasori made the clone call out mockingly.

"First, you protect him from those in the Hokage's council who wanted to kill him, un." The blonde recounted. Sasori's female clone puffed out her chest, making her looking like some kind of hero.

"Freedom for the filthy monster." 'She' said. Sakura growled. That had happened before she knew Naruto had the Kyuubi inside him. She had met him in the academy before she went to the Hokage to report how she liked the village so far. The council was in there, discussing the 'Naruto problem', as they said, and she basically defended him.

"Then, you grow up a little and help him with Mizuki, un." He continued.

"Naruto-kun! I'll save you!" The Sakura in front of her said as she scooped 'Naruto' into her arms and skipped around, before dropping him.

"Then you befriend the beast." He spat. "And go on a date with him, un?"

"Sakura-chan! Date me!" The Naruto Henge called in joy.

"Of course, Naruto-kun!" Her look-alike said with glee.

"It wasn't a date." She muttered, but Sakura was ignored.

"Next, you train with him, un." Deidara carried on. The clones fought a little, with Sakura coming out victorious. "I'm not even gonna bother with the rest, un, but the kiss just wraps it up nicely." He glared at her as the clones leaned in to kiss, but disappeared at the last second.

"Why, Sakura-chan?" Sasori asked. "Are we not good enough?" He added sarcastically.

"You never were." She sneered at him, struggling in Deidara's grip.

"It's pointless, Saku-chan." He whispered in her ear. "Stop with this foolish rebellion of yours and get the job done, un."

"NO! I won't hurt Naruto-kun!" She told them. Deidara's eyes widened at what she called him and his face darkened.

"Don't call him that!" He roared, pushing her to the ground and kicking her in the stomach. Sakura whimpered, feeling his foot hit one of her old wounds. "I…Just do what you're told, un."

With that, the two Akatsuki members left her alone.

'_What was that all about?'_ Sakura wondered as she got up to go back to Naruto. She spat a small bit of blood from her mouth and looked at where Deidara once stood.

'_**You think he's…jealous?'**_

--

"You actually considered opening it?" Sasuke asked the blonde, glaring daggers at him.

"I didn't, though." Naruto growled back. That was when Sakura decided to come back, and saw both boys there with Kabuto.

"Did I…miss something?" She asked. "Did Naruto open the scroll?"

"No." Kabuto told her. "What makes you think he did?"

"Well, I thought the scroll was booby trapped." She shrugged. "I was just wondering if the trap brought the most annoying person in the exam to bug you. If not, why're you here?"

"Cool it, hot-lips." Kabuto mocked, seeing Sakura's eyes widened and a blush spread on her face.

"Y-You saw that?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Saw what?" Sasuke, ever oblivious, questioned. He didn't want to miss out on it if a nickname like that was involved.

"It doesn't matter." Naruto said quickly, before Kabuto could reply. "Just tell me, what would have happened if I opened the scroll?"

"Well, others who try to cheat and peak at the scrolls…" He trailed off, looked at all of the younger Genin before him. "The scrolls are protected by some sort of hypnosis booby trap for anyone stupid enough to try and read them. It'll knock you senseless, and by the time you wake up; the exam will already be over."

"Kabuto, right? We met at the registration." Sasuke remembered. "What are you doing wandering around all be yourself?"

"Don't worry. I'm not after your Earth scroll." He assured them.

"I guess not." He nodded. "Because, if you were, you would have just swiped it from Naruto when you had the chance."

"He's not that weak, you know." Sakura defended.

"Dattebayo!" Naruto called with a grin.

"Naruto-kun would have probably wiped the floor with four-eyes. Kabuto is, after all, a veteran in defeat." She said. Sasuke looked rather surprised, both at her defence and the suffix Naruto had been blessed to receive.

"Whatever." He grunted, turning back to Kabuto. "So, are you looking for a Heaven scroll too?"

"Not really." Kabuto smirked. "You see, I already have them both." He continued, pulling out both scrolls and showing them to team seven. Not even two seconds later, the heaven scroll was gone. Naruto was holding it and grinning widely.

"So, you would've grabbed my scroll, just like that, right?" He asked mockingly, proving himself to be stronger than Sasuke thought.

'_What the hell?'_ Sasuke wondered. He saw Sakura shaking her head softly before she took the scroll and threw it back to Kabuto.

"I want to get a scroll fairly." She explained. "Besides, I don't want one with his germs all over it." The girl added with a small laughed.

'_What the heck? Since when did Sakura show so much emotion?'_ The Uchiha thought in shock.

'_Damn it! Side affects of losing the Kanjoo Jiyuu suck!'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'Becoming more emotional is a bad thing for me. Stupid Kekkei Genkai!'_

"I had a run of luck in getting them." Kabuto said, placing both back in his hip pouch. "I was just on my way to the tower to wait for my team mates to show up. So, if you'll excuse me." He said, smirking at Naruto and Sakura before turning his back to the three Genin and walking away.

"Hold it!" Sasuke called. The silverette stopped and looked over his shoulder at the boy who spoke. "I'll fight you for it." He challenged.

"Oh boy." Sakura sighed, leaning her head on Naruto's shoulder as he hesitantly placed an arm around her waist. She noticed his pause and took his wrist, pulling his arm around her and letting the hand rest on her hip. "It's okay." She allowed.

"Right." Naruto nodded. "I just wasn't sure." He grinned.

"Well, make sure you get dressed soon." Sakura told him, patting a hand on his bare torso. "I really don't want you to get sick and only lower our chances of passing."

"M'kay!" Naruto agreed. He was happy, mainly because Sakura's hand stayed on his chest. _'I'll ask her later why she's showing so much emotion. I don't want to ruin the mood or whatever.'_

"What a lucky break." A Rain-nin, the very one that had planted the explosive tag a few days ago, said as he watched team seven and Kabuto from a distance.

"You'll fight me for it?" Kabuto asked with a smirk, turning to face the overconfident Uchiha. "Are you serious?"

"Perfectly. Sorry, but I don't have time to play nice." He stated bluntly, catching Naruto and Sakura's position out of the corner of his eyes and scowling. _'And I need to blow off some steam.'_

"You do realise that this guy practically saved our butts! If it weren't for him I might have opened the scroll later on anyway!" Naruto stated.

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "We should just let him leave."

"Shut up." Sasuke grunted in her direction, his jealousy getting the better of him.

"Oi! Don't tell her to shut up! You shut up, teme!" The blonde growled in her defence.

"It can't be helped. Here, it's all about surviving and winning. Nothing else matters!" The Uchiha said, lowing himself into a fighting stance.

"Hm…You're lying." Kabuto realised, looking away.

"H-He is?" Naruto asked unsurely.

"Come on. For all your tough-talk, your heart really isn't in it." He continued as Sasuke glared. "If that was true; if winning was all that mattered to you…why openly challenge me to a fight? Why announce it and put me on my guard? Why not just jump me when my back is turned?" He continued, pushing up his glasses. "After all, that's what a ninja would do."

"Hmmm…That's pretty deep." Naruto hummed. Sakura just sighed.

"That's okay." Kabuto assured. "Actually, I admire you for it. So, here's what I'll do; I'll show you the path you should follow. But let's go, we need to get out of here. The smell of the cooking fire is going to draw the attention of every wild beast in this forest." He said, turning his back again. "And not only animals, but the _competition_ too." He added, narrowing his eyes at the Rain-nin in the bush. The aforementioned ninja's eyes widened in shock before he left quickly.

--

Team seven were now following Kabuto through the trees. Naruto had gotten dressed again in his orange trousers and black shirt, but had given his orange jacket to Sakura. The wind was picking up and her own jumper had been mangled by the explosion four days ago.

"You think there're still other candidates out here?" Sasuke asked, pushing off of another branch.

"Oh yeah." Kabuto smirked. "Think about it. What would be the most efficient way of collecting scrolls in an area as large as this? To go searching through the forest for them?"

"Uh, no." Sakura said. Naruto looked at her in confusion, his look clearly saying 'then what have we been doing for the past few days?', to which she shrugged in response.

"Correct. You have to let them come to you." Kabuto explained. "The tower at the centre of the forest is the goal, right? So, on the last day, that area will be filled with other teams trying to get in with both of their scrolls."

"Heh, like an ambush, huh?" Sakura smirked.

"Exactly." He nodded.

"So, we just go to the tower, find a hiding place and wait for a team to come along with a heaven scroll!" Naruto chipped in. "Then it's easy sailing from there!"

"Well, you're smarter than I thought. Though, that's not saying much in your case." Kabuto smirked.

"Teme." The blonde growled back at the insult.

"Anyway, that's just one third of the problem." He carried on. "I mean, come on. You guys aren't going to be the only ones thinking of this; did you really think it would be that easy? Every other team that's lacking a scroll will be lying in wait, just like you."

"So what?" Naruto grinned. "The more the merrier, I say. Whoever they are, we'll take care of them! Huh! Wouldn't want this to be too easy! That wouldn't be _any_ fun! Okay, so we grab someone else's scroll and keep those _losers_ from grabbing ours and bingo; we pass the second exam!"

"That's _two_ thirds of the problem." The silverette cut in again.

"Stop stalling! Why can't you just tell us the whole problem, already! This is a waste of time!" Sakura huffed, annoyed by him always putting down their plan, no matter _how_ simple it was.

"Well, there's bound to be some _collectors_ lurking around the finish line as well. So, even when you think you're home-free, you can't relax your guard for an instant." Kabuto warned. "This kind of exam _always_ separates them out from the other competitors. Collectors are those who gather extra sets of scrolls to get certain advantages."

"You mean like bribing their way out of unexpected situations?" Sakura suggested.

"Or to give other ninja from their village a needed scroll?" Naruto asked in a serious tone. Sasuke looked over to the blonde with wide eyes.

'_He's actually adding intelligent input! Naruto's been spending way too much time with Sakura to be thinking like her.'_ He scowled.

"Both correct. Some also steal them to keep other competitors from rival villages from passing." Kabuto nodded. "Others, of course, use them for their own cowardly purposes. They'll use them to get out of conflicts with stronger teams further down the way. They'll be there alright, and they're bad news."

"So, the closer we get to the tower…" Sakura trailed off.

"The more likely we are to run into them!" Her blonde boyfriend finished off, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Aww man! This is gonna be such a drag!" He whined.

"Now you sound like Shikamaru." She commented with a slight smirk in his direction.

"I see." Sasuke said, speaking up at last. "And I'm also starting to see why you brought us along with you."

"Hm?" Kabuto hummed.

"You're only just staring to see, teme?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's obvious! He just wants bodyguards or distractions so that he can get into the tower relatively unharmed. Duh. It's because he's frightened, right?"

"You bet I am." The older man admitted without a trace of shame in his features. Sakura narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but said nothing about the matter.

--

"There's the tower." Kabuto whispered as the moon illuminated the goal of the test. They had travelled all day and it was now night time. "That means the end is in sight. Here comes the hard part."

"Well, it's about time! Bring it on!" Naruto cheered loudly. Then, he and all the others froze.

"There's someone back there." Sakura muttered as Naruto got out a kunai and threw it into the foliage behind them. It hit a very large centipede, killing it instantly.

"Ha! False alarm; it's just a centipede. Dattebayo!" Naruto told them. He and the others noticed Sakura shiver slightly and pull Naruto's jacket tighter around her shoulders.

"Urgh…I hate bugs." She admitted.

"Hey, Naruto." Kabuto called quietly.

"Hmm?" The blonde replied, collecting his kunai quickly and then landing back in his spot. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his speed.

'_Someone's been training.'_ He realised. Sasuke then looked to Sakura and he frowned. _'And someone's been training __**with**__ him.'_

"Do us a favour and try to keep it down to a dull roar, will you?" Kabuto requested. "See, the whole idea is not to let anyone know we're here. If you go around, crashing through the forest like an elephant, you're going to draw collectors like flies. We wanna find them before they find us."

"Oh…yeah." Naruto nodded sheepishly. "I see your point."

"Take it slow and quietly." He suggested. "Let's use all the time we've got left."

"Mmhmm." Sakura nodded.

"Okay." Naruto agreed.

"Got it." Sasuke grunted.

--

"That's more like it." Kabuto smirked as he released the invisibility jutsu he had placed on himself. He observed as Sakura moved silently through the long grass, with she had used for cover after realising that Naruto's jacket wasn't seen through the thickness of the weeds. She looked over to the river next to her, where a thick reed was floating along. Under that reed, a certain Uchiha was using it to breathe as he swam along.

Kabuto moved position and activated the jutsu again to observe how Naruto was doing. The blonde was stuck in a few vines, but quickly and silently cut them away from him before joining the others on the ground surrounding Kabuto. The latter pulled out a compass and held it up to the tower, checking the distance, while Sasuke shook out the water from his hair.

"Okay, we're getting closer." The man said, putting the compass away and turning to the others with a nod of his head. They walked forwards on foot this time, to keep the noise down further. However, after a few moments of walking, Kabuto stopped and nodded ahead of them. Pinned to the tree were the dead bodies of at least five ninja squads.

"A trap, huh?" Sasuke realised.

"Yeah, and it only gets worse from here on in." Kabuto sighed, motioning from them to continue. Naruto, however much training he had received, was still Naruto though. He tripped on a wire and dozens of kunai shot out at him, Kabuto noticed this and jumped up, covering the blonde and getting the kunai in his own back instead.

"Kabuto!" Naruto called out. Sakura and Sasuke heard him, so they stopped and turned, seeing their guide on the ground, wounded badly.

"Like I told you." He grunted. "It only gets worse from here on in."

"Move." Sakura ordered, pushing Naruto lightly to the side and tugging all of the weapons out of Kabuto's back before pulling his shirt up to uncover his wounds. "Damage isn't too bad. A few shallow puncture wounds and only one or two deeper cuts."

"Heh, you know how to distinguish just by looking?" Kabuto mused, not showing his pain.

"That's not all I can do." Sakura smirked, holding her palm above one of the worst wounds. "Shosen Jutsu." She muttered as her palm glowed green. It patched up the wound and she moved on to the other one, until only two scars were left. Sakura then ran her hand over the rest of his back until the other wounds pulled together. "It's not perfect, but it'll hold until you can see the medics at the tower."

"You know some medical jutsu, then?" The man asked, standing up and stretching. His back stung a little, but it wasn't as bad.

"Only a bit. I'm no where near as good as my brother. That's the only one I can perform and the wounds you had are going slightly over the limit to what I can heal in less than five minutes. Anything deeper would've taken me a while." She told him. "Now, put your shirt back on."

"Yeah, yeah." Kabuto sighed, pulling his shirt over his head. Though, he was still slightly impressed that she knew medical jutsu _at_ _all_, since very few people had the chakra control to become a medic-nin.

--

"Damn it." Sakura hissed as she tripped over her own feet. Naruto turned back in time and caught her, concerned.

"Sakura-chan!" He called out. "Are…Are you okay?" The blonde asked, holding her around her back and the backs of her knees.

"Yeah, just a bit worn out." She panted.

"We haven't even travelled that far." Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at her show of weakness.

"Yeah? You try healing so many wounds and travelling for hours." She shot back.

"Sakura's right. Healing jutsus are draining." Kabuto defended. "Can you go on?" He asked her.

"You know…that tower's not getting any closer." She noticed.

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Naruto whispered back. "It's weird."

"No…It's a genjutsu." Sakura growled, standing up.

"It would seem we've been spotted. Somebody is playing games with us; making us walk in circles." The guide said with narrowing eyes. "Look; ring any bells?" He asked, pointing behind Naruto.

"What? No! It can be!" He yelled out, looking at the giant centipede he had nailed to the tree with a kunai hours ago. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"

"Looks like you were right, Sakura. It's a genjutsu." Kabuto sighed, but his smirk let everyone know he was looking forwards to the upcoming fight.

"I can't believe we fall for it so easily." Sasuke muttered.

"I can." The girl rolled her eyes.

"We were so concerned about not being seen by anyone, that we didn't see we were walking around in circles." He continued. "It's their game."

"Their game? What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows rising in question.

"They're trying to wear us down." Kabuto explained. "They'll strike when we're frustrated and physically exhausted."

"You mean like we are right now?" Sasuke enquired in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Right. They'll be coming soon." The silverette said, pushing up his glasses again. Team seven and Kabuto heard noises in the forest as hundreds of ninja pulled themselves into the open. They came from trees, bushes, the ground; everywhere. All had bandages over their eyes and an Amegakure Hatei-ate on their foreheads.

"Well, Naruto…you wanted a fight." Sasuke joked with a wide smirk.

"Hmm, four against forty…I like those odds." The blonde grinned as the enemy came closer and closer.

Clone Verses Clone; Mine Are Better Than Yours

"Clones, right?" Sakura asked, pulling out a kunai.

"From the look of it, I'd say you're right." Kabuto nodded. "And a whole lot of them." He added, looking around. One of the clones began to chuckle.

"Like cornered rats." It laughed, getting Naruto to yell out.

"Oh yeah?!" The blonde shouted at a random clone. "Cornered rats, are we?" He asked, charging and punching the closest body.

'_Wait…don't clones vanish after getting a direct hit?'_ Sakura thought with a frown as Naruto continued to push the clone further back with his clenched fist. "Naruto!" She called. It was too late, since the clone didn't vanish into smoke. Instead, the part where Naruto had landed his hit broke up into a black liquid, causing the blonde to fall through with some of the stuff the clone was made from left on his knuckles. Kabuto turned to look and the four ninja watched the clone melt.

'_What are they?'_ Sasuke asked himself. He saw the area Naruto punched begin to rise, forming the head and shoulders of another Nin. A hand rose up, holding a double-sided kunai.

"I-I just touched it and it turned to mush." Naruto realised. "What's going on here?"

'_There's only one way to see what's really going on.'_ Sasuke noticed, closing his eyes. _'Sharingan!'_ He thought as he activated his bloodline trait. The clone with the kunai slashed at the melting body and turned, twisting towards Naruto quickly to cut him up.

"Naruto!" Sakura called, throwing her kunai at the clone.

"Watch out!" Sasuke added, throwing three shuriken to go with Sakura's kunai. The weapons hit their marks and the arm was taken apart, but soon reformed and turned to face Sasuke and Sakura. It threw a double-sided kunai at the pinkette.

"Dammit!" Sakura yelled, jumping out of the way. She landed at the base of a tree-trunk, her head pounding. "Oh, not now!"

'_**YES, NOW!'**_ Many voice screamed out at once.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, seeing her eyes go blank. Sasuke grunted and watched through Sharingan eyes as Naruto stand up and move in front of her for protection.

'_What's wrong with her?'_ He wondered.

_Sakura's Mind_

_Sakura's eyes fluttered open to a world of nothingness. All around her was white. She looked down and saw that she was standing on crystal clear water. To her right were mirror images of herself, all with different eye colours, and to her left were three more images of her; one had very long hair, the other had very short hair and the third had was a negative image of herself, all black surrounded by white._

"_WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" The girl with red eyes fumed._

"_Calm down, Rage-san. I am sure that there is a logical explanation for this." The girl with brown eyes—Intelligence—soothed. "Now, Sakura-san, please explain why you-"_

"_Completely disregarded what being a Haruno is all about!" Anger—who had purple eyes—asked snappily._

"_I did what now?" Sakura asked, raising a brow._

"_BONDS! Does this word mean ANYTHING to you?!" Rage asked sweetly while her left eye gained a twitch. "YOU CAN'T JUST-!"_

"_SOMEONE SHUT HER UP!" Anger screamed loudly. Inner Sakura sighed and muttered under her breath. Rage, still screaming, burst into hundreds of red butterflies and flew into Inner Sakura's body._

"_That was sooooo amazing!" Happy—with her bright orange eyes—giggled as she clapped her hands. "Do it again!"_

"_We summoned Sakura-sama here for a reason, Happy-san." Emotionless stated, blinking her grey eyes._

"_A-As R-Rage-chan s-st-sta-stated, y-you're b-bonds h-ha-have caused a b-bit of a pro-prob-blem." Shy muttered, pressing her fingers together._

"_Your point?" Sakura huffed._

"_Our point is this," Yin began, frowning, "your bonds have weakened your mental strength. You think too much about protecting people and not enough about yourself."_

"_This means that you're going against traditional Haruno law." Yang added in with a scoff. "Any Haruno with the bloodline limit is automatically supposed to be selfish."_

"_If not, we could all suffer a horrible fate." Depression sighed. "I knew this was going to happen."_

"_Puh-lease!" Pride tutted. "We're not going to die! This just means that Sakura-chan is going to be more emotional."_

"_Like that show with Naruto-kun earlier!" The peach-eyed girl known as Desire grinned. "You go girl! That boy-toy can __**kiss**__!"_

"_Naruto-kun is not a toy!" Love defended, her pink eyes shining. "He is the sun to our moon!"_

"_I'm not sure we should be talking like this." Fear gulped. "What if someone hears us?"_

"_Yeah right! Not just __**anyone**__ is good enough to be in here! Only __**we**__ can be in here." Vain smirked._

"_Why don't __**I**__ have turquoise eyes like Vain?" Envy mumbled. Vain sighed._

"_I heard that, Envy-chan!" Vain stated. "And it's just a fact that your eyes are dark green!"_

"_Please, can we keep this conversation purely professional?" Intelligence asked, crossing her arms. "The fact of the matter is, Sakura-sama has used the Kanjoo Jiyuu for purely selfless purposes and while her emotional mentality was imbalanced, thus resulting in a break down of her Kekkei Genkai."_

"…_In Japanese, now?" Hate sneered scornfully. "We can't understand any of that fancy mumbo-jumbo, baka! I hate it when you talk like that!"_

"_Hehe!" Happy giggled. "Hate hates something." She grinned widely._

"_What Intelligence was trying to say is that Sakura-sama has used her Kanjoo Jiyuu to help others too much, while she was unsure about how she was emotionally. This caused her bloodline to break down into nothing, since the Haruno way is to be selfish."_

"_Hello? Can I say something?" Sakura asked with a frown. Everyone turned their attention to her and she sighed. "What if I don't want to be selfish anymore? What if I've decided that my love for Naruto-kun is more important that any stupid bloodline? What if I think that my friendships with Hinata-chan and Sasuke-san are both far more important that being able to fight with my emotions? Literally." She finished._

"_That was beautiful!" Love cheered._

"_It still doesn't change anything." Emotionless cut in. "This only means that Sakura-sama will never have her bloodline ever again."_

"_There is a Loophole." Intelligence smiled, placing a finger to her lip._

"_What?" Pride enquired._

"_A loophole: a weakness or exception that allows a system, such as a law or security, to be circumvented or otherwise avoided." She explained. "Or, in this case, for a Kekkei Genkai to be kept."_

"_Do tell." Vain grinned sinisterly._

"_Well, if we merge with Sakura-sama, she'll be able to call on us whenever she wants, just like before. However, the only way we'll be able to appear is to project through her body; that means that she can only use one of us at a time, so the technique will be severely weakened." She told them._

"_What's the catch?" Sakura asked._

"_Well, this also means that you're emotions will be haywire until you learn to control them. When the Kekkei Genkai is at full power, your Inner is able to contain us for you. At zero power, like now, you have poor control, but are able to resist, to an extent, everything that isn't an extremely strong emotional urge. When you merge with us and go to half-power, you'll be controlled by emotional urges until you can control them." She sighed heavily. "It's risky, but doable."_

"_Well then…let's merge. What could go wrong?" Sakura asked._

"Everything's going wrong!" Kabuto called out. "We've got no choice but to hold our ground, fend off their attacks and hope that Sakura-san will wake up soon to help us out."

"Nnnn." Sakura groaned, her eyes opening slightly. "What happened?"

"Sakura-chan! You're back!" Naruto grinned, hugging her.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun. Where did I go?" She asked.

"You were out of it for a long time." Sasuke told her. "You okay?"

"Wha-? Oh, um, yeah…sure." Sakura muttered, rubbing her head. "Why are we surrounded by ugly copy-cats?"

"Our scroll, probably." Naruto growled.

"We need to—ARGH!" Kabuto yelled out when he was struck in the face and sent to the ground in pain.

"Kabuto!" Naruto and Sakura yelled out. The clones advanced on Kabuto until he looked them in the eye. His sclera began to redden and the clones backed off. Naruto then sprung forwards and kicked all clones away from him while Sakura checked his injuries. All of the clones disappeared, leaving the originals unconscious on the ground.

"Heh, like you said; never give your enemy an opening." He quoted.

'_One of them must have said that while I was unconscious.'_ Sakura realised, seeing that Kabuto's only noticeable wound was one clean cut across the bridge of his nose, similar to Iruka's scar and his glasses had been knocked from his face.

"Thank you, Naruto." Kabuto smiled with a hefty sigh. "You really saved my neck."

"Nice one, Naruto-kun!" Sakura laughed, running up to him and hugging him around his neck. Naruto looked shocked.

"I…It was n-nothing." Naruto stuttered with a blush.

"You don't have to be bashful." She whispered. "You _are_ my boyfriend."

--

Naruto finished tying up the Rain-nin, all of the others watching him; Sakura had offered to help, but the blonde told her that it would be easy to do and that she could relax. Kabuto's eyes, now covered once again with his glasses, travelled down to Sasuke's neck, where he saw the curse seal.

"That mark…what is that?" Kabuto asked. "Is it a bruise?" He continued, noticing how Sasuke moved his hand to cover it.

"It's nothing." He defended. Naruto, who had moved on to searching the ninja, grinned and jumped up with a cheer.

"Hey, guys! Here it is! Just what we needed!" He told them loudly, holding up his prize. "A Heaven Scroll!"

"Good for you!" Kabuto smiled.

"YEAH!" Sakura laughed, jumping up and doing a back flip. Sasuke smirked slightly, but his eyes soon landed on Kabuto and he glared.

'_There something not right about that guy.'_ He realised.

--

Kabuto and team seven reached the tower soon after their find. Naruto was supporting his weakened girlfriend, leaving Sasuke to hobble along behind them in—surprisingly—acceptance of the fact Sakura would never choose him over Naruto. They turned when they heard the bushed behind them rustling and watched Kabuto's team mates appear.

"There you are, Kabuto." One said. "You're late."

"Sorry about that." Kabuto apologised. "I got a little sidetracked."

"Yeah, and are we glad you did!" Naruto laughed.

"I hate to admit it, but it was thanks to you that we got our Heaven scroll." Sakura nodded.

"Not really. You did most of it on your own." The silverette smiled. "Mainly you, Naruto. _Very_ impressive."

"Well, this is where we say goodbye." Sakura stated.

"Indeed. Bye." Kabuto waved, turning to a door. Team seven turned to the one next to it and Naruto and Sakura each grabbed a handle. They pushed the doors open, breaking a seal on the door as they did, and stepped slowly inside.

--

"Good harvest?" A male's voice questioned when Kabuto and his team stepped into their room.

"Excellent, actually." Kabuto smirked. "I got all the data and recorded it on this." He said, holding out a card. "You want it?"

"Of course." The man said softly as Kabuto held out the card. "So, tell me; what did you think?" He asked, taking the information.

"Aha." Kabuto chuckled. "Your curiosity is truly insatiable…Lord Orochimaru."

"Well, as a Sound Village spy, you see things others don't." Orochimaru stated, looking over the card. "Your opinion…is of interest to me."

"Oh, it doesn't really matter." Kabuto said. "Whatever I think, you're the one who decides. Isn't that always the way?"

"You're a good worker, aren't you, Kabuto? I like that." He chuckled as smoke surrounded him. "Good work." He said as the smoke cleared, showing no signs of him ever being there to begin with.

--

"What's the deal?" Naruto asked once he and the others were in the centre of the room. "There's no one here. I don't get it…what happens now?"

"Look at that." Sakura said, gesturing to the words written on a piece of paper hung on the wall.

"Huh?" Naruto hummed, reading the text. "If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." He read.

"If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack." Sakura continued.

"When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever." Naruto said, still reading the words above him. Sasuke didn't read it, but instead chose to look between the two as they recited it.

"This…_something_…is the secret way, which guides us from this place today." The Haruno girl concluded.

"This 'what'? Or is that a secret too?" Naruto huffed. "It's like there's a word missing or something."

"It's about the scrolls." Sakura explained. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Naruto-kun?"

"I think I am." Naruto grinned. "We're supposed to open the Heaven and Earth scrolls now." He stated. Naruto brought them both out of his pocket and offered on to Sakura, but she threw it at Sasuke. The boys got ready to open the scrolls, but hesitated.

"GET IT OVER WITH!" Sakura yelled after two minutes of gulping. She breathed heavily for a moment before composing herself. _'I guess this is when I get more emotional…great.'_

"Okay." Naruto nodded. "Here goes nothing."

They flicked the scrolls open.


	20. OneonOne! What's my Punishment?

Chapter Twenty

Surviving the Cut! The Rookie Nine Together Again!

"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher." Naruto read.

"If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack." Sakura continued.

"When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever." Naruto said, still reading the words above him. Sasuke didn't read it, but instead chose to look between the two as they recited it.

"This…_something_…is the secret way, which guides us from this place today." The Haruno girl concluded.

"This 'what'? Or is that a secret too?" Naruto huffed. "It's like there's a word missing or something."

"It's about the scrolls." Sakura explained. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Naruto-kun?"

"I think I am." Naruto grinned. "We're supposed to open the Heaven and Earth scrolls now." He stated. Naruto brought them both out of his pocket and offered on to Sakura, but she threw it at Sasuke. The boys got ready to open the scrolls, but hesitated.

"GET IT OVER WITH!" Sakura yelled after two minutes of gulping. She breathed heavily for a moment before composing herself. _'I guess this is when I get more emotional…great.'_

"Okay." Naruto nodded. "Here goes nothing."

They flicked the scrolls open and looked at what was written inside. At once, Naruto gasped and then looked confused.

"What…What the hell does this mean?" He questioned. Sakura looked over his shoulder and raised a brow at the scroll before scoffing and looking around.

"A man…? A person…?" Sasuke guessed. The girl frowned and then her eyes widened upon seeing the centre of each scroll rise and emit smoke.

"Drop the scroll! This is a summoning jutsu!" She warned. The boys did as they were told and threw the scrolls to the ground, one landing on top of the other. Sakura watched the smoking scrolls warily as the boys sank into fighting stances, ready for whatever would leap out at them. After a moment, the scrolls exploded into smoke; the pre-teens shielded their eyes from harm.

They looked back with narrow eyes as the smoke began to clear, showing the outline of a man. Naruto was the first to recognise him, his eyes widening as a sign of remembrance. Sasuke was the second to snap out of his shock as he discovered who the man was. It took Sakura a few more moments for her to drop her stance and huff, turning away with folded arms.

"What?" Sasuke gasped. "It's you?" He continued. Standing there, in all his Chunin glory, was the one, the only…UMINO IRUKA-SENSEI!

"Hey there!" He greeted. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Please. I saw you about two weeks ago." Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes as she remembered the genjutsu he tried to pull on her. "Iruka-sensei, what the hell are you doing here?" She frowned.

"Well, it looks like you've all gone through a lot." He smiled, looking over their various wounds.

"Hey, wait! What's the deal with this freaky entrance?" Naruto asked loudly.

"At the end of the second exam, we Chunin are supposed to welcome back any of those who passed the test." Iruka informed him. "And I guess I was just the lucky one who got to be the messenger for you guys, Team Seven." He continued, stepping towards them.

"…Messenger?" Sakura echoed. _'It's official. This test is __**so**__ different from the one in Yuki.'_

'_**No duh.'**_ Inner agreed. Iruka reached into his pocket and drew out a watch, flicking it open and looking at the time it displayed.

"Whew, and you made it just in time, too." He laughed. "A minute later and you would have been disqualified. And now…congratulations! You've all passed the second exam."

"Wha-?" Team Seven all questioned in confusion.

"To celebrate passing, I would _love_ to treat you all to some Ichiraku ramen, but I-"

"RAMEN?!" Naruto cheered. "Seriously? That's so cool!" He laughed, jumping onto Iruka and hugging him.

"Hey! I'm not done!" Iruka complained.

"_So_ cool!" Naruto said, ignoring him.

"Let me go!" The teacher ordered. Sakura stepped forwards and took Naruto's hand, pulling him off of Iruka; she didn't let go, but instead kept a hold of his hand as he carried on ranting about how great Iruka was for offering them ramen.

"Ramen would be awesome! Iruka-sensei is awesome! I love ramen, Sakura-chan! Ramen! Ramen!" He chanted over and over again.

"I know, Naruto-kun. Ramen is great, but let Iruka-sensei finish." She calmed, patting his head.

"…Fine." Naruto muttered, holding her hand tighter. Iruka noticed this and smiled faintly. "But…RAMEN! RAMEN!" He cheered again, jumping up in the air. Sasuke let himself drop onto the floor, looking up at his two team mates as Naruto began to dance around with Sakura, spinning her exhausted body while she was too tired to complain.

"Where does he get all that energy?" He mumbled to himself.

"Naruto-kun…knock it off." Sakura whined half-heartedly. "I'm tired."

"Alright." Iruka butted in. "Well, I can see that you're just as hyperactive as ever, Naruto. And that you and Sakura have grown…attached." He carried on, seeing the blush on both Naruto _and_ Sakura's faces, and the slight look of jealousy that flickered across Sasuke's.

"So…if we opened the scroll in the middle of the exam…" Sakura began, thinking.

"…What would you have done to us, Iruka-sensei?" Sasuke finished, seeing what she was getting at. Naruto glared at Sasuke for finishing his girlfriend's sentence.

"Well, as usual, Sasuke and Sakura, you're both very perceptive." Iruka sighed, picking up the scrolls. "You've discovered the secret. Part of this exam was to see if you could tackle a very dangerous and important mission, and then see it all the way through without cheating. You all knew that opening the scrolls was against the rules of the mission, and if you opened one…"

"Yeah? What?" Naruto enquired.

"Simply put, you would have been down for the count; get it?" He stated bluntly. "If a scroll was opened, the Chunin assigned to that squad would be the one to knock out the cheaters, and they'd be disqualified. Some ninja found that out the hard way."

"Woah. Thanks Sakura-chan! If you were someone else, I would have opened that scroll. And I guess I owe Kabuto, too, huh?" Naruto sniffled, his big eyes full of relief. Sakura just sighed, and rubbed her eyes.

"Whatever." She muttered.

'_**Cha! That was too close!'**_ Inner yelled, pumping her fists in the air.

"Oh yeah, sensei?" She called.

"Yeah? What is it?" He replied, looking at her frowning face.

"What does that writing on the wall mean? I think Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san and I get the basics of it, but it's still pretty confusing." She told him, pointing to the poster.

"Well, good eye. Explaining that parchment is one of the duties I've been sent here to do." Iruka smiled. Naruto sniggered to himself.

"Hehe…Iruka-sensei said duties." He giggled. Sakura and Sasuke looked at him blankly, shaking their heads in shame.

"Naruto, this is serious business." Iruka told him with a heavy sigh.

"Really?" Naruto complained.

"Read it well. This here is a guide written by Hokage-sama that he believes all good Chunin should follow." The man said.

"They're guidelines?" Naruto scoffed.

"Yes." Iruka nodded. "Heaven stands for your mind; Earth stands for your body. If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. Get it?"

"Hmm. Sort of. So, if your weakness is in your smarts, like me, I guess, then I need to work extra hard to make sure I'm ready." Naruto guessed.

"Exactly. If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. Do you get that?" Iruka continued.

"Yeah. Like my taijutsu is my weakest element. Meaning, I've got to train harder for missions so I won't hold people back." Sakura sighed.

"You got it. When Heaven and Earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever." He finished.

"So, when you're strong in your mind and body, even a hard mission can become easy." Sasuke concluded.

"Yes." Iruka agreed.

"Well, Sasuke-san, don't get all big-headed. You're strong and smart, but you're not the strongest and the smartest." Sakura told him, bringing him back down to Earth with a dose of reality. Sasuke pouted. "So, that spot with the missing letter. What does that mean?"

"Well, that's actually for you to fill in." Iruka smiled. "It's different for every ninja; it all depends on what kind of shinobi or kunoichi you turn out to be. That symbol on the scroll is the symbol for person; it's a reference to you possible Chunin. These five days of survival were to test your abilities as Chunin and to see if you'd be any good at it, and I gotta say, you guys really did magnificently. A Chunin is a leader, someone who has to know the strengths and weaknesses of those serving under him, and also to know who needs what training in order to succeed. And, well, that's it. That was everything I was supposed to say to you."

"Got it." Naruto assured, saluting his sensei. Sakura nodded, resting her elbow on Naruto's shoulder.

"We all got it, Iruka-sensei." She smiled, shocking the brunette. When Iruka said nothing back, Naruto's smile dropped and he looked confused.

"Huh?" He said.

"Umm…One more thing." Iruka sighed. "For the third exam…don't push it too far. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried that-"

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto interrupted. "When I got this headband, I stopped being just an academy student. So, stop worrying about me. I'm a fully fledged Genin—I've passed two tests on my way to becoming _Chunin_! I may still be hyper…but I'm no kid. Not anymore. You just watch, next time you see me…I'll be a Chunin!"

"Naruto…you're right. I'm sorry for doubting you." Iruka apologised.

Iruka looked down, remembered Kakashi and Anko's words. He looked at the team of misfits, seeing Naruto laughed and Sakura smiling at her boyfriend while Sasuke just shook his head wearily.

'_I think that he was right. The one who understands the strengths and weaknesses of these ninja…is no one else but Kakashi himself.'_ Iruka admitted in his head.

--

In a high room in the tower, Anko was growling in pain as she added pressure to her curse seal. The Hokage watched her pain stricken face with concern as he puffed out smoke from his pipe.

"How is it?" He asked. "Does the curse seal still cause you pain?"

"No…Not really." Anko denied. "Thanks to you, it's much better."

"That's good, but we better get back to business." Kotetsu cut in. "This Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, isn't he?"

"He's supposed to be so incredibly powerful that not even one of the ANBU Black-op units could bring him down. I heard a rumour that he died, but I guess that wasn't true." Izumo sighed. "Why did he come to this village now, anyway?" He asked. Anko gasped in realisation.

"_Saku-chan got hers when she was nine and I put that same mark on a young man a little while ago. He's a very promising prospect and no one should steal him away from me like a certain group did with Saku-chan."_

"That kid." Anko stated.

"He is after Sasuke." The Hokage stated calmly. Anko looked at him in shock, but a voice broke through her radio before she could reply.

"_Anko, we've confirmed that twenty one ninja have finished the second exam."_ He said. _"As for the third exam; according to the rule, we'll have to hold a round of preliminaries first. For the first time…in five years."_

The room sat silent.

"Now, for the time being, we'll just continue with the exams." The Hokage said, breaking the silence. "But I do want to keep an eye on Orochimaru's movements as much as possible."

"Yes, of course." Anko agreed.

"Anko!" A Chunin cried as he ran into the room, holding a tape. "You need to see this!"

"So? Put it in!" Anko ordered.

And what everyone in the room saw nearly made their hearts stop.

--

The Hokage stood in the main room of the tower, examiners and guards to either side of him, the Genin candidates in front of him, Jounin senseis behind him and a statue of two hands performing the Tiger Seal behind them. Anko took a breath and began to speak, although everyone could tell that she was glaring them all down; and it wasn't like the rough glare she gave them before, this was the glare you would give someone who betrayed you.

"First of all; congratulations on finishing the second exam." She said through her microphone. _'Seventy eight ninja took that exam; I'm surprised that as many as twenty one passed…I knew that less than half would make it, but I really thought that the number would be in the single digits. Now, who is the one on the tape…?'_

"I'm really hungry." Choji whined as he grabbed his stomach.

"How troublesome. There's so many left." Shikamaru sighed. "This is such a pain."

"Sasuke-kun and his team passed too!" Ino cheered to herself.

"Well, of course they did." Shikamaru groaned. _'After all the trouble Lee, Sakura and our team went through, it would have been a miracle for them __**not**__ to pass.'_

"I see your team didn't do too badly, Kakashi." Gai admitted to his life-long rival. "They must've gotten _real_ lucky. Of course, with _my_ team still around_ your_ team is doomed to failure. After all, this next test is all about ability and we've got you far outclassed. Well, I guess that growing up is partly learning how to deal with heartbreak, huh, Kakashi?"

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi asked calmly. Gai stared for a moment before he freaked out.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried. _'Alright, Kakashi, you win this round. I can't stand it when you're so cool! I will __**not**__ let you get the best of me.'_ He promised.

'_So, that's Gai-sensei's old rival, huh?'_ Tenten mused with a smile. _'Well, if I had to judge them on looks alone, I'd have to say, Gai-sensei would lose.'_

'_Gai-sensei is just the coolest teacher ever. I mean, he is so cool, he practically __**glows**__ with cool.'_ Lee nodded with fire in his eyes. "You watch, Gai-sensei! Some day, I shall make you proud of me!" He said, remembering the fight in the forest and how Sakura had looked so destroyed when she was caught by the hair. _'I do not want to see that look on the face of anyone close to me again. That is a promise!'_ He thought with clenched fists.

'_As expected…all the best are here.'_ Neji thought, looking around at the competition. _'Haruno and Uchiha…huh?'_

"Sakura-chan passed." Juhi smiled.

"Duh." The twins sighed in union.

"I think…it's time we dropped out." Taiyoo smiled. "She's doing fine, and obviously doesn't need us anymore."

"And she's found Naruto…I think they really like each other." Juhi smiled slightly. Tsuki clenched his teeth and fisted his hands.

'_I will __**not**__ let that Fire Country brat take my Sakura-chan away.'_ He promised, glaring at Naruto.

"Hey, look. All of the rookie nine passed." Sakura mused, looking around her. "And Hinata-chan too…thank Kami-sama." She sighed. Looking towards the Jounin, she caught a glimpse of two things—two people she really didn't want to see. Snake eyes and an Evil-God rosary.

'_It's hard to believe that so many of them got through the second test, and so many of them are rookies.'_ The Hokage mused, looking back towards the Jounin teachers of all the rookies. _'I guess that's why they fought so hard to recommend them. But who is it on that tape?'_

"Alright, now pay attention. Hokage-sama is going to explain the third exam to you. You'd better listen carefully, maggots." Anko warned. "Now, Hokage-sama, they're all yours."

"Hmm." He nodded, stepping forwards and clearing his throat. "First, before I tell you what the third exam is all about, I want to congratulate you on making it this far and tell you something about the test itself. You better listen closely, now, it's something important. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams."

"True…purpose?" Sakura echoed.

"Isn't it to become Chunin?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?" The Hokage questioned. "To raise the ability levels of shinobi and to increase the power of the bonds between allied nations, sure, but it's important that you understand the true meaning. These exams are a representation of the battle between allied nations." As soon as the words left his mouth, people began to mutter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenten voiced.

"Look at our history! Many years ago, all of our allies were neighbouring nations fighting for power. In order to stop needless killing, these nations picked champions to battle in a mutually selected location. That was how the Chunin selection exams originally began." He told them.

"Well, that's great and all…but why do _we_ have to do these exams?" The blonde Uzumaki boy asked. "I mean, it's not like we're doing this to pick Chunin to go fight."

"On the contrary, the point of these exams is to weed out the shinobi who aren't worthy to become Chunin and to promote those who are." He informed them. "These are also exams where a shinobi may carry the pride of their nation on their backs and fight against other ninja for their very lives."

"Pride of their nation?" Juhi frowned, looking at the Hokage in question of his words. "I never heard of that in Yukigakure."

"Many leaders and visitors from prominent countries are invited to attend these exams. This is a way for them to choose the best shinobi to work for them." Sarutobi continued. "This exam could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out. And more importantly, they will watch the battles to see which ninja and which nation are the strongest. This way, the countries deemed weak will lose work and those deemed strong will gain it. It's a constant battle for strength, even now."

"Old man!" Sakura yelled impatiently. "We appreciate the history lesson, but this exam needs to carry on! When are we going to start the third exam?"

"Very well." The Hokage nodded. "Listen closely, I'll tell you what you'll be doing for the third exam!" He told them. A ninja appeared in front of him, kneeling on the floor.

"Hokage-sama, before you do…please allow me, Gekko Hayate, Proctor of the third exam to speak first." He said, coughing.

"So be it." The Hokage allow. Hayate got up, his back facing the Genin.

"It's nice to meet you all." He greeted, coughing yet again. "There's something…I would like all of you…ehe, ehe, ehe…to do before the third exam." He choked out, turning his head to look at them.

Narrowing the Field: Sudden Death Elimination!

"Uhh…We have to have a Preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one." Hayate told them.

"You have to be kidding." Sakura growled. "Haven't we all worked hard enough?" She twitched, trying to hold down the emotion that was trying to work its way up.

"Preliminary?!" Shikamaru yelled out. "Just what do you mean by that, huh?!" He asked. Sakura's fists clenched and her eyes turned a vivid red.

"WE'VE JUST WORKED OUT BUTTS OFF FOR THE LAST FIVE DAYS AND NOW WE HAVE TO FIGHT A POINTLESS PRELIMINARY?! WHY NOT JUST KICK A FEW OUT AND GET IT OVER WITH!?" Sakura screamed, panting hard when she was done. Her eyes faded back to green and everyone was staring at her. _'…Shit.'_

'_Damn, that's hot!'_ Kankuro drool.

"Ehe." Gekko coughed. "Well, you see, the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chunin exams, a Preliminary exam may be held at any stage, in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."

"But…Is that fair?" Ino asked with desperate eyes. "Everyone here's already tried so hard to make it this far!"

"It just that; we have to try to speed things up a bit and get the exams going faster when we get to this stage." He offered as an explanation. "As Hokage-sama said, a lot of important guests will be watching; we can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So, if any of you feel you're not in top physical condition, now's your chance to…ehe, ehe, ehe, ehe, _ehe_…"

'_Talk about not being in top physical condition.'_ Ino thought, raising a brow at the coughing Jounin.

'_That proctor doesn't look so good himself.'_ Hinata, always being the concerned girl she is, worried.

"Ehe, _ehe, __**EHE**_…Sorry about that. Anyway, now is the time for you to back out." He managed to say. "The Preliminaries will be starting immediately."

"Come on! You mean, right now?" Kiba barked.

"We've just finished barely surviving the last exam; don't we get a break?" Ino whined.

"Man, this is so troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.

"Urgh. When do we eat?" Choji complained.

'_No way! I'm in for the long run!'_ Naruto thought in determination. _'I promised Kabuto!'_

"Oh yeah…the winners will be determined though one-one-one combat; sudden death." Gekko added. "So, like I said, if there's anyone who's not up to the challenge, raise your hand; now or never."

'_Does he really think anyone will quit now?'_ Sasuke grunted, but stopped when a sharp pain flashed through his shoulder. He quickly grasped the mark and turned his head to look at it, but saw Sakura's frown. She was sweating lightly and he knew that she was suffering pain also.

"Sasuke." She whispered, getting his attention. "If the pain is too much, back out. If not, suck it up." She told him coldly. Sasuke knew that she was just telling him the truth, and he turned back to the front.

"It's just as I fear." The Hokage said to Anko and Ibiki.

"What do we do with him?" Ibiki questioned. Anko was quick to answer.

"We take him out of the exam, hand him over to Black-ops and let them keep him _locked up_." Anko said, glaring at Sasuke and Sakura. _'And if my suspicion is right, we should do the same with that girl.'_

"Oh, and he's just going to quietly go along with all of this, huh?" A voice cut into their conversation. "You really think so?" He asked. Anko turned and faced Kakashi. "You're forgetting that he's of the Uchiha clan."

"I don't care what he is! If he stays, he's a danger to everyone!" Anko yelled. "Don't you see? As he gets stronger, so does the curse mark! That thing his feeding off his chakra! It's a forbidden jutsu that devours the one who bares it." She trailed off, grasping her neck and looking back at the two pain-ridden twelve-year-olds. "It's incredible that either of them are still standing."

"Either of them?" Kakashi echoed. "Isn't Sasuke the only one who was bitten?"

"Today, yes. Overall, no." Anko smirked. "It seems that Pinky got the curse seal when she was younger too." She told him, enjoying the shock that crossed Kakashi's face. "By now…both should be dead. Hokage-sama!"

A head went into the air.

"Huh?" The Hokage grunted, along with a few others. All looked towards the owner of the hand in shock.

"Okay, you got me." Kabuto smiled. "I'm out."

"But…Kabuto…" Naruto said in amazement. Hayate flipped through the papers on his clipboard and stopped at Kabuto's name with a cough.

"Yakushi Kabuto of Konohagakure, right?" He coughed. "Okay, you can go on and step back."

"Gotcha." Kabuto nodded, walking out of the line.

"Kabuto! Hold on a second, you can't quit!" Naruto told him. "I don't get this; what's going on?"

'_Pathetic.'_ Gaara sneered mentally.

"Oh, Naruto. I'm sorry; my body is too beat up to continue." He excused himself. "The fact is, ever since everyone first arrived and that fight with the Sound Village team, I've had no hearing in my left ear. And now to put my life on the line? To fight again without a break? I can't do it."

"Seems to me I've seen him before." The Hokage noticed as he, and everyone else, watched Kabuto. "If my memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle. What kind of game is he playing?"

"Anko?" Ibiki called.

"Oh, right." Anko snapped back to reality, flipping through the papers on her clipboard. "Yakushi Kabuto…says here he's failed six times in a row."

"What do you have on his background?" The Hokage questioned.

"His time at the academy was _not_ what you'd call impressive." She told them as she read. "Average grades; took him a full three times to pass the graduation exam. As for the missions he's done since then; three C-ranks and fourteen D-ranks. Not exactly a battle record to write home about. However…"

"Go on." Sarutobi Hiruzen prompted.

"There's something _before_ his time in the academy." She told him. "Do you remember the child? The one who was found after the battle of Kikuyu Pass? The only survivor?"

"I remember the story." The Hokage nodded.

"That's him; Yakushi Kabuto." Anko nodded.

"Kabuto, what're you doing? Have you forgotten Orochimaru-sama's orders?" A team mated of Kabuto's asked him.

"I'm leaving that to you." Kabuto told him. "What's wrong? It should be no problem for you. This is your chance to prove yourself. After all, you've always wanted to take my place, haven't you? Go for it."

"Hm." He grunted. "You may be Orochimaru-sama's favourite, but be careful you don't push it too far."

"Thanks for the advice; I'll keep it in mind." Kabuto smirked, walking past him and looking over to team seven. He waved to them, but was wondering about Sakura. _'It's odd. She's knows me. She's seen me and been around me while I was with Orochimaru-sama. And yet…she says nothing to her team and doesn't even try to rat me out. What an odd girl, indeed.'_ He mused as he walked out of the door. Hayate coughed.

"Now then…is there anyone else?" He asked. Instantly, two more hands shot up.

"We do!" Juhi called out, looking a Taiyoo, who also had his hand raised; the twin wasn't looking back, but frowning at his brother. "Tsuki, what's wrong with you?" He hissed. "Raise your hand! Now!"

"Not gonna happen." Tsuki sneered stubbornly.

"Haruno Juhi and Hoshi Taiyoo of Yukigakure. You're both free to leave now." The proctor permitted.

'_Haruno?_' Several of the contestants thought in shock, as well as the Hokage, Anko, Ibiki and Kakashi.

"Umm, sir? Our team mate wants to quit too!" Juhi yelled.

"No I don't!" Tsuki growled. "I'm staying!" He told everyone. Juhi and Taiyoo left, glaring at Tsuki the whole way.

"We were supposed to drop out. She's fine." Juhi muttered to Taiyoo.

"I know. I think Tsuki might still have that _tiny crush_ on Sakura-chan; the same one he's held on to all these years." Taiyoo sighed as they walked out of the door.

"Is that all?" Hayate coughed, looking around. "No one else?"

'_To drop out, or not to drop out?'_ Sakura mused to herself. _'Inari-chan's fine with the neighbours…but he __**does**__ get really anxious when I'm away for too long. Did Kakashi-sensei check up on him like I asked?! What if the neighbour's dog ate him?! I-! No! Panic needs to shut up now; Inari-chan is fine.'_ She sighed, shaking her head. _'But…I only took the exam for Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san…'_ She frowned, preparing to raise her hand only to have it pulled back down. "Eh?"

"Don't even think about it." Sasuke growled, wincing in pain. "You aren't who you appear to be…I know that much after seeing how you reacted to that man back in the forest."

"Che. So what? Gonna rat me out?" Sakura glared at him, pulling her wrist away from his grip. "What my past contains and my future holds is none of your concern."

"My brother." He grunted. Sakura froze and her heart felt like it stopped for a moment.

'_Does he…Does he know?'_ She gulped slightly.

"You asked me who I wanted to kill once." He continued and Sakura let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. "It's my brother."

"Why tell me now?" She questioned, crossing her arms. Sasuke shook his head.

"I've noticed recently that you don't like being close to people at all; what you like is trust." He stated, seeing the confusion on her face. "That's why our team work's messed up and that's why you choose Naruto over me; you trust him because he gave you reasons to. He's open about everything—especially with you."

"Sasuke-san, do you really think now is the time for a dramatic epiphany of why I like Naruto-kun more?" She scoffed. "I like trust because when you share that kind of bond, you don't have to expect the person you share it with to hurt you. Just because you want me to trust you doesn't mean I wont drop out of the exam."

"YOU'RE DROPPING OUT?!" Naruto had apparently heard them talking and couldn't contain himself. "Sakura-chan! No! You're really strong and you need to show everyone that! You can't drop out now!"

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura scolded, seeing that everyone was looking at her curiously. She winced internally. _'If I stay in this exam, you could get hurt…I don't want that for you, Naru-kun.'_

"Don't drop out." She heard a quiet, but strong voice, demand. Looking to where it came from, Sakura was shocked when she saw Hinata's determined eyes. "If you drop out, I'll loose any courage I have!"

"See?! Hinata-chan will drop out too!" Naruto whined.

"Fine, fine." Sakura surrendered. "Yo! Procter dude! We're good over here; you can continue!"

"Right." Hayate coughed. "Then let's let the preliminary matches begin. It will be one-on-one battles; just like real combat. There will be ten matches and the winner of each will proceed to the next round. There are no rules; you will fight until the opponent is dead, unconscious or admits defeat." He turned and nodded to Anko.

"Open it." She ordered down her microphone. A section of the wall behind the Hokage opened to reveal a screen.

"This screen will show two names; they are the fighters." Hayate paused to cough. "It will determine your battles. Everyone understand?"

"Hai!" Came the chorused answer.

"Then the preliminaries will now begin!" He announced as the screen began to generate random names. When the two names appeared, Naruto frowned.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_Vs._

_Akadou Yoroi_

'_I won't fight Sasuke this round then.'_ He sighed. Everyone except the opponents leapt up onto the balconies attached to the walls and observed the match. Both opponents used good moves, but Sasuke was the victor in the end.

"Winner; Uchiha Sasuke!" Hayate announced. Almost as soon as he said that, Sasuke collapsed and Kakashi took him away from the building. No one objected, and so the next two names were displayed.

_Aburame Shino_

_Vs._

_Abumi Zaku_

Sakura could only roll her eyes. It was obvious that Shino was the superior fighter, even if Zaku's arms weren't broken. Deciding that it was pointless to waste her time observing battles, she excused herself to the bathroom to check over the wounds she'd received. She heard the faint sound of mocking laughter and rolled her eyes.

"Pathetic ninja are cocky ninja." She sighed.

"Are you implying something?" A deep voice from behind her question; the girl turned and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't worry, Itachi-san; you're arrogant, not cocky." Sakura spat at him, turning again and walking away. He used his speed to get in front of her and grasped her upper-arms.

"I spoke with Deidara and Sasori." He stated. "Leader-sama is not happy with your delaying tactics and felt that you needed to be punished. Not only that—Kisame-san and I will take over getting the Kyuubi from here."

"Punished how?" Sakura asked, a slight quiver in her voice. Itachi only smirked.

"They're calling for you." He told her before he disappeared.

"Sakura-chan! There you are!" Naruto called. "Come on! Your match is starting!"

"Wh-Who am I up against?" She asked, seeing Naruto's face fall slightly as he sighed. "I'm not fighting you, am I?"

"No…it's worse." He gulped. "Come on."

"Wha-?" As soon as they entered the room, Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

_Haruno Sakura_

_Vs._

_Hoshi Tsuki_

"Oh no."


	21. Welcome to Hell

Chapter Twenty One

'_No! This can't be happening!'_ Tsuki panicked, looking across the room and seeing shocked green eyes met maroon and the green-haired boy bit his lip. _'Why now? Why her?'_

"Would the contestants please step down." Hayate said, coughing into his fist. Sakura leapt from the balcony and Tsuki followed her example soon after.

"Sakura-chan…I don't want to fight you." He confessed. "C'mon, we grew up together. It wouldn't be a fair match. I know your moves; you know mine. How about we just stop this?" Tsuki suggested, smiling weakly. A few of the people in the balconies looked shocked when he mentioned them growing up together.

"Drop out if you want. I'm here to fight." Sakura told him coldly. _'But not with you! Tsuki-kun…I'm so sorry.'_

'_While she's fighting…I can get a better look at that tape.'_ Anko realised, looking around and leaving the room. _'I just __**know**__ it's her with the Akatsuki.'_

"Begin!" Hayate yelled, jumping out of their way. Both fighters were still for a moment before Tsuki made the first move and looked into her eyes; maroon met emerald and both froze.

"I never thought I'd see this." Kurenai sighed from the balcony. Her students and Naruto turned to her, as well as Shikamaru, Ino and Choji.

"What, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked, seeing that the Haruno and the Hoshi were still strangely motionless. Their eyes seemed to glow as they measured each other up. Sakura shifted, her hand rising to her weapon pouch. Tsuki mirrored her action, his eyebrows lowering.

"The clash of a Haruno and a Hoshi. In Yukigakure, they are the two most prominent clans; like we have Uchihas and Hyuugas. However, both were equally matched most of the time, and so they agreed on a pact and watch over Yuki together. These two are both strong, I can tell, and so this match could potentially be in anyone's favour." She sighed. Kurenai pointed down when Sakura's arm raised and dropped suddenly. Tsuki did the same and both disappeared.

Two shuriken clashed and an explosion filled the stadium, dust rising and the ground shaking. Looking to the arena, everyone gasped to see that the force had come from the fists of Tsuki and Sakura colliding, their chakra so strong it was visible. Sakura smirked and aimed her other fist at him while he did the same. The impact wasn't as great as the first and they pressed their weight on their fists to see who was physically stronger. Seeing that she was fighting a losing battle, Sakura leapt back and hurled herself at him. Tsuki did the same and they vanished.

"They're gone!" Ino gasped. Naruto frowned.

"No, they're just moving fast. Listen." He said, closing his eyes. The other rookies copied his example and they heard a faint clanging of kunai. After a moment, three shuriken fell to thee floor, covered in blood and the fighters became visible. Sakura had a scratch across her cheek and Tsuki was panting.

"Want to quit?" He mocked, his eyes narrowing as he dodged a fist aimed at his head. He jumped away from his opponent.

"Want to shut up?" Sakura smiled, wiping away the blood from her cheek before moving in fast for another punch. Just before hitting her mark, she froze.

--

"_Sakura-chan! I love you!"_

--

"Ts-Tsuki-kun." She muttered, stumbling back. Tsuki frowned and took the chance to punch her in the stomach. Recovering fast, Sakura grabbed his fist and twisted his arm back, kicking him away from her. They both felt the impact of the hits and fell backwards, landing hard. As if it were a reflex, Sakura began the hand seals for the Kanjoo Jiyuu, but she stopped and dropped her hands again.

"Are you going to use your Kekkei Genkai or am I too weak?!" Tsuki demanded, wiping a trail of blood from his mouth. Sakura chuckled slightly.

"I mostly lost control of my Kekkei Genkai in the Forest of Death when I save Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san." She told him, seeing his eyes widen.

"B-But…You…" He stuttered.

"Never risked it with you and your brother?" Sakura cut in coldly.

--

"_Help!" Taiyoo called out to the pinkette. "Summon Rage or something."_

"_No way! I could lose the Kanjoo Jiyuu!" Sakura growled back._

--

"Sorry, but he means more to me that you ever did." Sakura told him, throwing kunai at him and speedily following them. As one kunai hit his arm, Sakura punched his chest. Tsuki grabbed the fist and threw her over his shoulder, not expecting Sakura to twist herself in midair and wrap her legs around his neck.

"Wh-Wha-?" He choked. Sakura grinned, her eyes red.

"Like it? Naruto-kun taught it to me!" She jumped from his shoulders, eyes fading back to green as she sank to her knees, performing hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" She called as four clones appeared. Tsuki frowned but then grinned.

"Well, I'm not holding back!" He announced, seeing the clones circle him and prepare to attack. The boy clasped his hands and, as he pulled them apart, a large wave of chakra rose up around him, dispelling the clones and pushing Sakura back.

Sakura jumped up, higher than the balconies, and held herself to the ceiling using her chakra. She frowned slightly and threw shuriken at Tsuki to make sure he didn't follow her. The boy dodged easily and back flipped to a wall just above the balcony Naruto was stood in, sticking to the wall with his own chakra. He grinned slightly, but it dropped when he met her eyes.

--

"_Team Two; Hoshi Tsuki, Hoshi Taiyoo…" The teacher announced, pausing while the twins cheered loudly. He rolled his eyes at the five-year-olds and looked back down at his list, gasping at the next name. "H-Ha-Haruno S-Sakura-sama!" He choked out. The twins froze and everyone looked to the back of the class, seeing the cold girl looking as if she didn't care who was on her team._

"_Great." She muttered sarcastically. The twins gulped and shivered, just as scared of the Haruno girl as everyone else in the class._

--

"Grrrrr!" He growled. "Now is not the time!" Tsuki told himself, shaking his head and pulling out a kunai. He attached a paper bomb and threw it towards where Sakura was, only to grit his teeth when she carelessly kicked it towards the ground.

As it exploded, the spectators covered their eyes. Dust rose to cover the battle and Naruto grew anxious as he heard metal clashing. When the dust settled, both of the fighters were on the ceiling in a battle of strength, pushing harder on their parried kunai. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she pushed her weapon towards Tsuki, but he was naturally stronger than her. She leapt away from him and flipped in the air, landing on the ground with the grace of a cat. Tsuki let himself fall and landed heavily.

"You never were the stealthiest in the class. In fact, I remember you best for your heavy footing." She scoffed, twisting her body and sending a kick at his head.

"Well, you never were the…ummm…what were you bad at again?" He asked, catching her ankle and throwing her away. Kiba snorted slightly, but shut up when both Shino and Hinata gave him a look.

"Nothing." She growled, blocking the punch he delivered to her stomach and knocking his feet out from under him. Tsuki smirked.

"No…there was something."

--

"_Sakura! Honestly! Guard your hips!" Team Two's sensei demanded of his daughter. The Hoshi twins sniggered slightly, but were silent when Sakura glared at them; they had only been a team for two day and she still scared them._

"_I am!" She stated, getting back up and standing in a defensive position—her father just made a fake jab to the head and kicked her again in the hip. Sakura was kicked back and she hissed in pain._

"_No, you're not." Haruno-sensei seethed. "Even that idiot Tsuki knows to guard his hips!"_

"_Hey!" Tsuki called out in his own defence. "I—"_

"_He's not that much of an idiot." Sakura muttered, missing the way the twins' eyes widened at her defence. She then froze. "I-I mean…"_

"_No, you said what you mean." He said angrily. "Training is over! Sakura, when you get home I expect you to be able to block hits to your hips!"_

"_Hai, sensei." Sakura nodded, watching her father walk away. Taiyoo and Tsuki were still staring at her. "What?" She snapped. Tsuki blushed slightly and Taiyoo, seeing his current inability to talk, shook his head and made up an excuse for both of them._

"_Your hip is bruising."_

_She grinned slightly._

"_Why don't you spar with me and we'll see if I can block?"_

_Both twins walked home with more bruises than they thought was possible._

--

"You never were able to block attacks to your hips!" He announced, kicking her in the hip. Sakura was too slow to dodge and ended up crashing into the wall below Gaara's balcony. She fell to the ground and got up on all fours, holding her hip and spiting out blood.

"Okay, so that was always a weak spot for me." She coughed. "That doesn't mean I don't know yours too!" Sakura declared, running towards him and stopping with her face just inches from him. She smiled.

"N-No fair!" Tsuki yelled with a crack in his voice as he jumped away, his cheeks stained crimson. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he looked away from the fight, only to have his curiosity draw his attention back.

"Haha! You never could be that close to me without choking up!" Sakura laughed, doing a back flip onto the rails of Gaara's balcony. She looked towards the redhead and stopped for a moment. "Huh. You're pretty cute." She decided, jumping back up onto the ceiling. Gaara's expression didn't change, but his fingers twitched slightly.

'_I thought her eyes were green…not peach-coloured.'_ Gaara thought.

'_Desire! Stay out of this!'_ Sakura fumed to one of her most annoying emotions. She dodged just in time when Tsuki jumped up to punch her, but instead he broke off a part of the ceiling. The piece of rock fell towards the ground, leaving the Hokage and several Jounin to leap out of the way.

"I told you." Kurenai announced when her students' mouths dropped open in surprise of the show of strength.

"Stay still!" Tsuki roared, trying to punch Sakura again, only to have her dodge and land on the railings of Naruto's balcony, just in front of Shikamaru. She looked back at the lazy Nara and smirked.

"No I wont, Tsuki-kun. I'm too troublesome to do that!" She sighed, hanging from the balcony as if daring the green-haired boy to attack. He frowned and aimed a kick to her stomach, but she dropped herself to the ground before it landed. Tsuki back flipped off the balcony, landing a few feet from his pink-haired crush.

--

"_Taiyoo-kun! Look out!" Sakura cried, pushing the younger twin out of the way of a falling boulder. He looked back at what could have been his demise and gulped._

"_Th-Thanks, Sakura-chan, I—wait…what did you just call me?" He asked, his jaw dropping._

"_Taiyoo, you were nearly flattened!" Tsuki yelled as he caught up to them, only hearing what his brother said. "Who cares if she called you a moron?"_

"_No…She called me—" He was cut off when Sakura slapped a hand over his mouth._

"_It doesn't matter." She insisted. Tsuki shrugged and she walked away, leaving the twins alone._

"_So…what __**did**__ she call you?" Tsuki asked slyly, sending a hopeful grin in his brother's direction. Taiyoo opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it and grinned._

"_You'll figure it out when she calls __**you**__ like that." Taiyoo teased, going to catch up to his female team mate and their sensei. Tsuki frowned._

"_Huh?"_

--

"You'll never beat me, Tsuki-kun!" Sakura declared, flipping back onto the ceiling for a third time. "Hmm…I'm starting to like it up here."

"Well, you won't be up there for long!" Tsuki growled, performing hand signs. Clones appeared and they all leapt up, punching the ceiling and surrounding Sakura. The area she stood on fell towards the ground, but she flipped herself away just in time to keep from being flattened. She rolled her eyes.

"You always _did_ like throwing your fists around like a monkey." She mocked with a sneer. "Taiyoo-kun's approach to fighting is far greater than yours. No wonder you're the weaker twin."

"SHUT UP!" Tsuki growled, throwing his leg towards her. She blocked her face, but he shifted at the last minute and aimed for her hip. She sailed backwards into the wall and groaned. "Ha! Look who's weak now!" He taunted, watched as she smirked and leapt onto the wall, climbing back up onto the roof.

"Still, my chakra control is better." She waved off, rubbing her bruising hip.

"I said shut up." Tsuki muttered, clenching his fists as his whole body shook with rage. His hands flew into a series of seals. "Time for _my_ Kekkei Genkai! Juuryoku!" He called.

"No!" Sakura yelled, applying more chakra to her hands and knees to hold her to the ceiling. Everyone in the room felt heavier, as if the air was pushing down on them; it lifted when Tsuki moving his hands towards Sakura. Her eyes widened and her chakra wasn't enough to keep her on the ceiling. She fell to the ground, dust rising all around her, sweat colleting on her brow as she tried to resist the increased gravity. "Damn it." She cursed, feeling that more than one of her ribs had been broken from the impact of the fall. She was, however, able to stand again. She threw two kunai towards him, but Tsuki smirked and lifted his other hand causing the two kunai to instantly fall to the ground.

"My Kekkei Genkai; Juuryoku can increase gravity in any spot I choose as much as I want." Tsuki boasted, twisting his hands slightly. Sakura groaned, feeling the pressure on her increase. "Don't you get it, Sakura-chan? You never stood a chance! You can't beat gravity!" He frowned, putting more force on her. "Just give up! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I…I…" Sakura stuttered, wincing when she tried standing again. Naruto caught her eye and he growled.

"Don't give up, Sakura-chan! You can beat his ass any day!" Naruto cheered, punching his fists in the air. "C'mon!"

--

"_Sakura-chan! C'mon! You can do this!" Tsuki cheered as he watched his crush fight against his brother's Kekkei Genkai. "You can beat his ass any day!"_

--

"Shut up, Fire trash!" Tsuki roared, hearing his own words from so many years ago coming back in the form of some other boy. Lowering his hands slightly, Tsuki winced as the ground around Sakura began to crack. He really didn't want to hurt her; he wanted that kid to shut up.

"Ahh!" She cried, the weight too much for her to withstand. Naruto gulped and Hinata turned away. Everyone else looked amazed.

"Give up, Sakura-chan! Please!" Tsuki begged, not easing up on the gravity.

"N…N…No!" Sakura yelled, pushing herself up. Tsuki froze for a moment before increasing the gravity again. Sakura hit the ground and parts of the floor were churned up. She bit her lip and rose to her hands and knees.

"Stay down!" Tsuki demanded, increasing the gravity again. "If…If I can't have you…NO ONE CAN!" He declared, turning his wrists and adding more pressure. Sakura's back bent, but she continued to rise. The gravity was so high now that everyone could see the air swirling around the spot Sakura was in, avoiding the area. Sakura couldn't breathe, but she got to her knees, sweat dripping from her forehead.

"I…can…win…" She spat, remaining silent afterwards to conserve her energy. Tsuki shook his head.

"This isn't a fairytale where you get inspired and beat your opponent due to some pretty words from your _boyfriend_, Sakura-chan." He told her, twisting his wrists and raising his arms. "Ja ne." He bid as Sakura was pushed into the ground with so much force that she went through the rock. She cried out in pain and Tsuki released the jutsu, panting from the effort it took to keep it going. "Sorry, Sakura-chan." He sighed. Hayate looked at the boy and nodded.

"The winner is—"

"Take this!" Sakura yelled as she jumped back up, planting a fist in Tsuki's face. As he sailed back, she grinned slightly. The boy didn't get back up; the energy used for the jutsu and the force of the punch had knocked him out. "I'm done here." She stated, falling back and closing her eyes. She didn't get back up.

"This fight is over. The competitors have five seconds to rise or it's classed as a draw." He announced. "Five…Four…Three…Two…One…This battle is over."

"No way!" Ino shrieked. _'Their power…how is it that they can be so strong and yet neither one of them made it to the final?'_

"The fourth fight is a draw." Hayate declared. Kakashi, who had arrived during the fight, leapt from his balcony and picked up Sakura while Gai picked up Tsuki. Suddenly, Anko burst into the room with two ANBU.

"Stop right there, Kakashi!" She yelled. "Drop the girl!"

"What's going on, Anko?" Kakashi questioned, not letting go of his female student.

"We have proof that Haruno Sakura is conspiring with the Akatsuki; an organisation of S-Class criminals. She has been seen, on tape, in the Forest of Death with Uchiha Itachi and many other members." Anko charged as the ANBU took the pinkette from her sensei. "As soon as she wakes up, Ibiki will have her for questioning."

"S-Class criminals?" Shikamaru repeated. Naruto's mouth fell open as he watched them carry his girlfriend away.

"Sa…Sakura-chan!"

--

Sakura groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around, squinting in the darkness. This was not the medical bay, where she was expecting to go. She gritted her teeth as she stood up, holding her side from the pain of her previous battle. The door opened and light flooded in, causing Sakura to shield her eyes.

A tall, broad man stepped into the room and circled her before standing in front of the doorway again. He sighed heavily and shook his head.

"My name is Morino Ibiki." He announced as the lights of the room turned on over his head. "Welcome to hell."


	22. What everyone's doing

**Hi! It's Shadow Quil here! Sorry I haven't been updating but I've been really busy with school work. Anyway, Monday the 11th of May marks the first day of my exams, meaning that I won't be done until the 17th of June. I wanted to update once before I sat my exams, so I wrote this. Sorry it's so short, but I don't have a lot of time between revising and relaxing. Too much! Anyway, once my GCSEs are over, I'll try to update more often, since after my Prom (26th of June!) I'll have a _really_ long holiday...well, two months...but that's the longest school holiday I've ever had! (If you didn't know, summer holidays are the longest holidays we get in British schools and it only lasts for six weeks, so this is a _long_ holiday for me lol)**

**Anyway, I hope none of you hate me *cries***

**Enjoy the chapter :D**

**Quil~**

Chapter Twenty Two

"Haruno Sakura." Ibiki called. The girl in question did nothing to acknowledge him. "Haruno!" He called again, striding over to the preteen and pulling her hair so that she faced him. The almost scared look in her eyes made Ibiki hesitate, but he pulled her up and pushed her into a metal chair. He nodded towards another man, who then turned on the lights.

"Ibiki-sensei, did you want anything else?" The man asked. Ibiki shook his head and the man left, closing the door behind him. The interrogator looked back at the pinkette and sighed.

'_How is this possible?'_ He thought. _'Just a few days ago, she was another kid taking the exams; now she's in here, ready to have any useful information tortured out of her. She's just a kid.'_ He sighed mentally.

"_Number 79!" Ibiki called. "Is there a problem?" He asked almost sincerely, but anyone with half a brain could tell that he was mocking the person he called._

"_No, sir." Sakura replied, flipping her long bangs away from her face._

"_Stand when you're speaking to me." Ibiki ordered, smirking. Sakura sighed, rolled her eyes and stood up, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her. "Now; is there a problem?"_

"_Sir, no, sir." Sakura replied as if she were a cadet in a military academy._

"_Then what did you say that numbers 78 and 80 found so amusing?" He probed. The boys on either side of Sakura gulped, but the pinkette just put her left hand on her forehead and her right on her hip._

"_You don't want to know." She assured._

"_Oh, but I do." He replied firmly, crossing his arms. Sakura sighed and stood straight._

"_I said; __**someone **__has a pole shoved up his ass, sir." Sakura told him, causing everyone to burst out laughing…well, some laughed while others just smirked and/or sniggered, even the sentinels._

"_Repeat that!" Ibiki yelled, frowning at her._

"_Sir, I merely stated that someone has a whole grip on this class, sir." She smirked, covering up her words. More laughter went around the room._

"_That's what I thought you said." Ibiki muttered. "Now, sit down." He ordered, Sakura doing as she was told._

Shaking his head again, Ibiki looked right at the girl, who was once again staring at the ground. Her breathing was evened out, but he knew she wasn't unconscious or sleeping. Ibiki took a scroll out of his kunai pouch and read through the contents, his frown becoming prominent until he was almost digging his nails into the paper.

"Calm down, Ibi-chan, before you break the scroll." Her voice drifted to his eyes. Ibiki looked down at her and noticed that she had a small, almost accepting smile on her face. "Before you ask me anything, I should tell you that I'm in no position to answer. So, therefore, I'm not going to talk anymore for this moment on." She declared.

"We'll see about that." Ibiki sighed as she, true to her word, ignored him and remained silent. "The report states that you have been caught, on tape, conversing with more than one member of the Akatsuki. Do you deny this?"

"…"

"Do you deny this?" He repeated. Once again, no answer. Ibiki closed his eyes and mentally sighed before he tied her wrists to the arms of the chair. "We'll see if you're willing to talk more after a few days of solitude."

--

"Inari-kun! Someone's here to pick you up!"

"Neesan!" Inari called as the kind old woman he was staying with called him. When he saw who was at the door, he paused and frowned. "You're not Sakura-neesan."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, brat." Naruto glared. "Now grab your junk; you're staying with me for a few days."

"No! Not without Neesan!" The younger boy rejected, crossing his arms and turning away from the irritated blonde. Naruto bowed to the old woman before entering her home and going straight to the room Inari was staying in, picking up a back and shoving everything that belonged to the ten-year-old inside. Inari followed him and began kicking at the Genin.

"Stop that!" Naruto ordered, his voice full of rage. Inari stopped instantly, his eyes showing fear. "Finish packing. I'll explain when we get to my apartment, okay?"

"O-Okay." Inari agreed, taking the bag and finishing his packing.

--

Sasuke sat in his hospital bed, bored out of his mind. He knew that the preliminaries would be over by now and he was hoping that Sakura or Naruto would visit him, but for no other reason that to put a stop to his boredom. The door slid open and he looked over to see who his visitor was, only to sigh when he saw a nurse. However, behind the nurse was his sensei, looking weary and slightly angry.

"Sensei." Sasuke nodded in greeting. Kakashi just pulled up a stool and sat next to Sasuke's bed, looking hard into his pupil's eyes.

"Has Sakura ever said anything to you about her personal life?" Kakashi questioned in a serious tone. Sasuke was shocked at first but he soon relaxed and shook his head.

"No. Naruto would have been the only one to know that kind of stuff; either him or those three from Yukigakure." Sasuke replied.

"_Your parents were probably the same." He muttered, glaring at her._

"_No! My mother was killed because she didn't inherit the bloodline trait and my father…he only saw me as a tool. I wasn't his daughter. I was a weapon that he could use against his enemies. Why do you think I ran away from Yukigakure and came here? Because I was from one big, __**happy**__ family?" She asked.  
_

"Wait. She did tell me about her family." Sasuke remembered. "Her mother was killed for not having the Kanjoo Jiyuu and her father treated her like a weapon."

"Was her father a criminal?" Kakashi continued. Sasuke shrugged.

"She only spoke about him once. That's all I know." The Uchiha said, frowning. "Why? Did something happen?"

"No. It doesn't matter." Kakashi sighed, getting up and leaving the room; Sasuke's frown deepened.

"What's he keeping from me?"

--

"There's no point in stay, you know." Taiyoo voiced. He and Juhi were tired of humouring his twin, who kept insisting that there was a very important reason to stay, but he just couldn't tell them.

"Yeah, he right." Juhi agreed. "Either tell us what's going on, or we're going to pack up and leave tonight. All of the other contestants have gone home already, why don't we?"

"We need to stay!" Tsuki claimed for the umpteenth time that day. He looked out of the window and sighed. "We can leave yet."

"Why _not_?" His twin sighed. "They're gonna get suspicious and kick us outta Konoha soon, anyway. Yukigakure and Konohagakure aren't on very good terms at the moment, you know."

"I know, I know." He waved off.

"If this is about Sakura—"

"It's not!" Tsuki cut Juhi off in a panic. The older boy's eyes widened at the denil in his team mate's voice and he grabbed Tsuki's collar, pushing the preteen into the wall.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" He hissed. Taiyoo stepped forwards to help, but a look from Tsuki stopped him. "Tell me!"

"Alright!" Tsuki caved in. "Sakura…Sakura-chan has been arrested."

"What?!" Both the other boys yelled.

"This is why I kept it from you!" Tsuki shouted back. "I knew that—!" He was cut off by a fist in his face. He fell to the floor, clutching his broken nose as Juhi rubbed his knuckles and left the hotel room.

"You idiot!" Taiyoo scolded his twin.

"What did I do?!" Tsuki demanded. The sun-named boy glared at him.

"Juhi-san is Sakura-chan's brother! He has a right to know! And…And I'm _your_ brother, not to mention Sakura-chan's friend. I had a right to know too!" Taiyoo yelled at him. "Why can't you trust us with these things—or me, at the very least."

"I do trust you…but Sakura-chan…I love her." Tsuki confessed.

"I know you do…so does Juhi-san, and I'm willing to bet Sakura-chan knows it too. And, while I wouldn't mind having her as my sister-in-law, she belongs here." Taiyoo sighed. "Just like we belong in Yuki."

"Didn't you hear me?!"

"You love her?"

"No! Well, yes, but no! Sakura-chan has been taken into custody! Put in the slammer! A-R-R-E-S-T-E-D! Does that mean _anything_ to you?" He stressed the point.

"Yes, and I want to help her, I really do. But, let's be realistic. We know nothing about Konoha, or at least not enough to fight the system of power here to free her. There's only _three_ of us. And, let's face it, that Naruto-guy will kick all of their asses before we can say 'hault'!"

"Yeah…I hate it when you're right." Tsuki winced. "I just wish I could do something to help her!"

"You can." Juhi told him, appearing at the window. "We're staying. In time, that Naruto-kid will come looking for us, and he'll find us. Then, we'll rescue my sister."

--

Inari had spent five days with Naruto and it was driving him insane. If the blonde was his usual, hyper, funny self, it wouldn't have been too bad—but the Uzumaki boy was seriously depressed. Hey, having your girlfriend seemingly betray you can do that to a guy! He had, however, opted not to tell Inari what had happened.

To save the boy's feelings and thoughts towards his 'big sister', he told Inari that Sakura had gone away to train with her brother and old team mates for a while. Inari had accepted this excuse, although not without some suspicion. He knew that his Oneesan cared for him, but she did deserve to train, after all. He just wished that she had stopped to say goodbye first.

"Oneesan…"

--

'_Is this my punishment?'_ Sakura wondered with a careless smile. _'If this is all I have to do to protect Naruto-kun, I'll be willing to take a bit of pain or torture. Hell, they could just be testing my loyalties. While I may not be loyal to them as people, I __**do**__ sort-of believe in what they're doing. A new world, without conflict…bliss.'_

Ibiki re-entered the cell Sakura was being kept in after she had been left alone for a week with no food or water. He was sure she would be willing to talk now, but when he entered the room he saw that she had not moved since he left her seven days ago. She was still in the chair, her head down and her arms crossed. Ibiki shook his head and looked at her, waiting for some sort of reaction. Her eyes flicked towards him, but other than that she showed no signs of acknowledgement.

"Are you ready to talk, Haruno?"

'_Of course not, you idiot.'_ She wanted to say, but she knew that she had told him that she wouldn't speak, and so Sakura simply bit her tongue and remained quiet. Ibiki sighed, shaking his head.

"Look, you're just a kid. Tell me—what do they have over you? Are they blackmailing you? If so, then you have no reason to be loyal to them. We here in Konoha can protect you. All you have to do is answer my questions, and everything will be over in no time." He assured. Sakura bit her lip and shook her head, turning away from him.

'_Never.'_ She said mentally. _'I will never betray __**anyone**__! No matter how much I hate the Akatsuki, I refuse to sink to their level.'_

"Tell me! Just answer my questions and you can leave—today!" Ibiki promised. Shaking his head again, he pulled a scroll out of his vest pocket and showed it to her. "I have permission to use force and even violence to get the information I want. This is your last chance, Haruno."

"Che." She scoffed. Ibiki narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to hit her, but she showed no signs of caring. He then remembered how protective she was of the blonde boy and mentally smirked.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He stated, watching her shoulders tense. "I could always have him brought in too. Charge him with assisting a criminal, or being an accessory to your crimes, or even—"

"Naruto-kun has nothing to do with this." Sakura cut him off, not wanting to drag her boyfriend down with her. "Leave him out of this!"

"Oh, so he can loosen your lips, huh?" Ibiki mused. He smirked at her and walked out of the room, heading to the front office. "Call Anko." He told the man at the desk. "Tell her to bring Uzumaki Naruto to the interrogation unit."

"Which cell, sensei?" The man asked.

"Cell seven."


	23. Hello, Goodbye

**Hi, everyone! I'm back and I should be updating a lot more frequently. In fact, I've already started on the next chapter. YAY! My Exams are over and I'll get my results in August, so I really hope I did well.**

**Okay, so, enjoy this chapter and the next one should be up soon! However, it might not be up till sometime next week, as I am busy at the moment and my Prom is coming up. If anyone wants to see pictures of me and my friends, just tell me in a review or PM and I'll send you a link to where I'll put them up as soon as they're of DeviantArt.**

**Shadow Quil**

Chapter Twenty Three

Deidara was angry.

No, in fact, he was _beyond_ angry! Not only had their youngest member disrespected the Leader's rules, but she went full-out and _betrayed_ them all! She utterly refused to continue with her mission, capturing the Kyuubi by gaining his trust. That was the problem with girls, Deidara believed; they gave into their emotions far too easily.

He would have thought that a Haruno girl, of all people, would have a stronger grip on their emotions, but it was just his luck that the curse of her family told the opposite. In return for complete control of their emotions, they were doomed to be _driven_ by their emotions through all of their lives. Deidara knew that he wouldn't have minded so much, if only those emotions had driven her towards him instead of her target.

Her punishment was simple. She had to know that the village she had chosen over them would turn on her just as quickly as she turned on the Akatsuki; all they needed was a little prompting. For that reason, Itachi did not tamper with the cameras in the Forest of Death as he normally would have done. Deidara could tell that the Uchiha felt just as betrayed as he did.

The blonde was ready to tear her apart when he witnessed her kissing the demon kid. She was supposed to complete her mission, with no emotional attachments, and come back to the Akatsuki. Then, when she grew up a bit, she was to be his! Forget the Uchiha, just his! Deidara was only glad that he and Itachi were the only ones even close to her age, or else he may have had more competition.

Itachi. One of the few people in the world he could dedicate his life to kill and then die happy with the knowledge that the bastard was dead too. If only, he often thought, Sakura was on his side. The power of himself and that girl combined would be more than enough to take down more than half of the old windbags that made up the organisation, and Itachi too.

However, Pein was very clever when it came to selecting his members. He was fully aware that, while some may get along, none of the people in the organisation ever had the capability to truly be loyal to each other, or at least more loyal to each other than they were to him. What he hadn't been counting on was Orochimaru turning up one day saying that he had found someone to join the organisation.

Finding members took months of planning and organising, and then he had to decide how they should be approached and whether they were truly worthy of Akatsuki time at all. So, when Orochimaru made his announcement, Pein was pissed. It was only when her clan name was mentioned that Pein, as well as the rest of the organisation, became interested.

Now, Deidara hadn't been there when Sakura joined, since Orochimaru had still been Sasori's partner, but he remembered being told of how she was like a stubborn mouse that refused to give in when it was let into a lion's den. He could really see the fire in her eyes that would support the story, as well as how she had fought against Orochimaru to _stay_ with the Akatsuki, if only for her attachment to Hidan.

The Jashinist and the pinkette had, against all odds, formed some sort of twisted friendship during her time at the base. There was no real foundation to their companionship, either. He was brash and rude, while she was more reserved and calculating. She would take the time to plan her actions carefully before going through with anything while Hidan would kill first, think later. Sakura also thought that Hidan followed a ridiculous, pointless religion. The only way to really know why the two had formed any sort of friendship would be to ask one of them, and Deidara knew that Sakura wouldn't give him a straight answer and Hidan would tell him to '_mind his own fucking business_'.

Deidara could still remember the first day he entered Akatsuki, thus meeting Sakura for the first time.

~Flashback~

_The newest addition to Akatsuki was wandering up and down the halls of the Amegakure Kage tower in search of a certain Uchiha he needed to challenge to a rematch. When he found said Uchiha, he didn't expect to find him battling with a girl with pink hair. What really shocked him was to see that Itachi was actually beginning to breathe heavier than usual._

"_Give up, teme!" The girl yelled in his direction while she readied herself to dodge. Itachi said nothing, but attacked her hip._

"_You need to learn to block attacks to your hips." He scolded without any emotion in his voice, though Deidara could clearly see the amusement in his eyes._

"_Shut your mouth! You sound just like my Otou-san!" She glared as him, turning and leaving the training room. Deidara didn't move in time and the girl saw him. "Were you spying on our training?" She demanded._

"_Uhh…no." Deidara told her. "I was just looking for Uchiha, un."_

"_Yeah? Well, there he is! In all his asshole glory." She muttered, walking away. Deidara looked to the training room and shrugged, going after the girl instead._

"_What's your beef with Itachi-san, un?" He asked, seeing the annoyance on her face when he realised that he was following her. "And how can you keep up with him like that? You're…what? Six, un?" He chuckled slightly, looking down on the younger girl._

"_Firstly, I'm seven. Secondly, it's not my fault if you got your ass kicked by him and I didn't. And, lastly, get over yourself! If you're seriously going to be an Akatsuki member, you'll need to be more humble that you're acting." She lectured. The blonde fumed slightly, not like being told off by someone four years younger than him._

"_Now you listen to me, un!" Deidara began, seeing a bored look settling on her face. "I will not be told—!"_

"_Yeah, yeah. As fascinating as what you were about to say might be, I have a meeting I need to get to. In fact, judging by that cloak, you should be attending too." She told him, wandering off. Deidara, knowing that he would get lost if he didn't, trailed behind the mouthy seven-year-old, glaring at her in contempt._

~End Flashback~

The blonde sighed and shook his head, walking to the exit of the building where Sasori was waiting for him. Nodding once to acknowledge the redhead, he smirked.

Time for the rescue mission.

—With Sakura—

'_It's already over.'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'I'm not going to answer him; he knows that. It's over.'_

"Haruno…I have a surprise for you." Ibiki smirked as he walked into the room, a shorter person following behind him. Sakura's eyes widened, turning yellow as fear took over.

"Naruto-kun?"

~Flashback~

_Naruto walked into his apartment after coming home from shopping. His budget was tight as it was and now with another mouth to feed, he wasn't sure how long it would be before he could no longer pay the bills. The boy wasn't, however, selfish enough to kick Inari out. The poor brunette was in a panic when he discovered from gossip around town that his 'big sister' had been arrested._

"_Inari?" He called, kicking his door shut behind him. Receiving no reply, Naruto walked to the kitchen and set the bags down before pulling out a kunai. "Inari? Are you here?"_

"_The kid's fine." A woman's voice sounded from behind him. Naruto threw his weapon in her direction and turned, seeing Anko grinning as he held his kunai between her teeth. "That's really some killer aim you got there, brat." She laughed, throwing the weapon to the wall and letting it stay there. "But you need to work on speed."_

"_What're you doing here?" Naruto demanded, running to pull his kunai out of the wall. He really couldn't afford to have it fixed._

"_I'm here to collect you." She announced, showing the boy a scroll that gave her permission to take him to the interrogation building, against his will if necessary._

"_Why?"_

"_Your little girlfriend refuses to talk." Anko shrugged. "You're the one who's going to loosen her lips, ready to blab everything she knows about Akatsuki."_

"_Yeah? Why should I?!" Naruto yelled. "She betrayed Konoha! She betrayed __**me**__! Why should I have to go near her, huh?"_

"_Because Ibiki believes that she was blackmailed." The purple-haired woman sighed, rolling her eyes. Naruto froze._

"_Huh?" He grunted, completely shocked._

"_Yeah, kid, great comeback." She snorted. "Ibiki thinks they have something over her…or at least that they're threatening her. But she won't listen to anyone, or speak, even when we promise to keep her safe and protected. So, since you're the only one in this village that she trusts, you're the one who'll talk her into giving up everything she knows."_

"_What if I can't?" Naruto asked, his fists clenched. __**'Like she'll listen to me. For all I know, she only used me. I'm so stupid.'**_

"_Then I'm happy to say Ibiki got permission to use any tactic his sick mind can think of to make her talk." Anko grinned, loving the way Naruto gulped in fear. "Maybe he'll do it traditionally and start with digging senbon under her fingernails…or maybe he'll just skip straight to breaking her legs in half, slowly, painfully—"_

"_Okay, I'll do it!"_

~End Flashback~

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto greeted with a nod of his head. He was shocked to see her sitting in a metal chair, completely unharmed. He mentally thanked himself for not being stubborn enough to say 'no' to Anko, for he was sure that if he took any longer, Sakura would be bleeding by now.

"What…What're you doing here?" She asked shakily as her eyes flicked between yellow, fear, and purple, anger. "Ibiki, he has nothing to do with this! Let him go!"

"No one forced me to come here, Sakura-chan." Naruto cut in. Her eyes became red.

"Then why are you here, idiot?! You should be at home, loathing my very existence! I used you to get Konoha's trust! Why don't you hate me, are you that stupid?!" She demanded, her eyes slowly turning back to their normal shade of green. "Get out of here, Naruto." She ordered, seeing tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

"No!" Naruto yelled at her. "A part of me _does_ hate you, and that part makes me want to hit you right now!"

"Then go ahead!" She permitted, turning her head so that he had a clear shot of her cheek. "If you hit it at the right angle, maybe you'll even break my neck."

"I don't want to!" He cried. "The part of me that hates you is so small that I can ignore it…for the most part." Naruto trailed off, his eyes narrowing and his clenched fists shaking slightly. "But…" He began, stepping towards her and lifting his fist. Sakura wince in anticipation, but didn't shy away from the incoming hit. Naruto's fist came closer to her face and she closed her eyes, but felt nothing.

"Wha—?" She breathed when she opened her eyes, seeing Naruto's fist mere millimetres from her nose. "Why?"

"Because I know you would never try to hurt me." Naruto told her, his tears falling down his cheeks. "Tell me the truth…would you really betray me like that?"

"Yes." Sakura answered quickly. "I already did!"

"No." He said, looking into her eyes. They were black. "Pride-san…I want to talk to the girl with grey eyes."

"Why the hell do you want that?" Pride scoffed. "And her name is Emotionless-chan."

"Because she's the only one who can give me an honest answer." He said, remembering a training session he and Sakura had not long ago.

~Flashback~

"_Naruto…I'm going to use my Kekkei Genkai. You'll fight against whatever emotion comes out, okay? Each has their own style, so keep on your toes—I'll cancel the jutsu when you're tired."_

"_Okay, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, happy that they were training together, just the two of them, for the fist time since they became a team a week ago._

"_Kanjoo Jiyuu!" Sakura called, her eyes flashing a number of colours before settling as light grey._

"_Who're you?" He asked, having very little knowledge of her emotions other than Vain was turquoise, Rage was red and Fear was yellow._

"_That is not important." She told him, readying kunai. Before she could throw, her eyes faded and became very light green._

"_Huh?" Naruto voice, his shoulders slumping._

"_S-S-So-Sorry." The girl stuttered uncontrollably. "Y-You were-we-weren't supposed to f-fight her."_

"_Why not?" Naruto asked the shy girl. Something in his mind clicked. He was talking to Sakura's shy personality—Shy-san._

"_She-She's v-very s-s-st-strong." Shy replied. "T-Too strong."_

"_Okay?" The blonde said in confusion. "So, I'm fighting you?" He asked, sighing when the girl shook her head. "So…um…Who was the grey-eyed one?"_

"_O-Oh…She's Emotionless-san. S-She's a-always b-brut-brutally honest, be-because she d-doesn't h-have any r-reason to l-lie. She do-doesn't have the ab-ability. Th-his a-also m-make-makes her v-very strong."_

~End Flashback~

"Fine, fine." Pride sighed, her eyes dulling to grey.

"Yes, Naruto-san?" Emotionless asked in her monotone voice.

"Did Sakura-chan really betray Konoha?" He asked, determination still filling his tone he watched her eyes flash a thousand colours, as if all the emotions were trying to take control to stop her from leaking anything Sakura didn't want to be known.

"Yes." Emotionless' voice rang clearly from the body and Naruto's eyes dulled, his face hardening.

"That's all I wanted to know." He grunted.

"Idiot." A more demonic version of the same voice called. Naruto heard Ibiki's stifled gasp and he turned sharply, seeing projections of two versions of Sakura on either side of a now unconscious body.

One had her hair cropped around her shoulders and was wearing a black, formal kimono with a white circle on the back and the other had long, flowing hair let down around her ankles, and she was wearing a white formal kimono with a black circle on the back. The Sakura with cropped hair had onyx eyes with white pupils and a black spot in the pupil while the one with long hair had white eyes with a grey pupil and a white spot in the middle of the pupil.

The long-haired girl was smiling softly and the other was scowling, just as Naruto remembered them from when they had fought Zabuza not that long ago. He looked to the darker-dressed one, knowing it was her who spoke to him, since the voice sounded nothing like the angelic tone he remembered coming from the long-haired twin.

"Who…Who are you?" Naruto asked, unsure about whether the question would get him killed or not. He was never too sure when it came to Sakura and her Kekkei Genkai.

"I am Yang. This is my sister, Yin." The demonic girl, Yang, introduced.

"We are the split combinations of Sakura's good and, well, 'evil' parts of her personality." Yin smiled, her voice sending Naruto into a brief daze until he managed to snap out of it. He looked between the two and frowned.

"Last time I saw you…Yang was taller." He noticed. "Now, it's the other way around. Or…is it just me?"

"No, you're right, unfortunately." Yang scoffed, looking up slightly at the taller girl. Yin was tall enough for Yang to only reach her chin. The light side smiled again.

"Well, that's because she has more good in her personality that bad; she's had that ever since she truly became friends with you. Trust me, before she came to Konoha and met Hinata-san, Yang was the size of a building and I was a grain of rice. Eventually, we evened out, but Yang was always taller, until she accepted you as her friend." She explained. Yang cut in gruffly.

"And then, all thanks to you, _I_ started _shrinking_!" Yang snarled before a smirk made its way to her face. "But, this whole interrogation thing you got going on is causing me to grow again. Thanks, Ibi-chan!" She grinned nastily. Yin gave her a reprimanding look and shook her head slightly.

"Look, we're here as representatives for Sakura-sama. She can't talk to you herself because her emotions keep arguing over information that should be allowed—"

"—and information that shouldn't." Yang carried on, turning on her heel to face Ibiki. "Luckily for you, all of the questions you've been asking fall into the _latter_ category. Ha!" Yang once again was on the receiving end of a stern look.

"Long story short; Ibiki needs to stop asking questions and Naruto needs to start. Sakura-sama is more likely to answer if they're coming from him, Sasuke-san or Kakashi-san." Yin explained, her image fading. When she completely vanished, Yang sighed and disappeared too. Sakura blinked twice as she came around, her eyes finding Naruto.

"…Sakura-chan…?"

"What's going on?" She asked sleepily, suddenly becoming alert when Naruto took hold of her chin. "Naruto-kun?" Sakura acknowledged, frowning at the seriousness in her face.

"Why did you betray Konoha, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, the pain clearly showing across his face. Sakura opened her mouth when the door burst open and hit the wall.

"Akatsuki!" A flustered Jounin cried as he panted. "Akatsuki are—!" He was silenced when a kunai cut through his throat. Naruto and Ibiki were blown back by a small explosion and Sakura felt was seemed to be strings wrap around her waist. She was suddenly pulled towards the door and into wooden limbs.

"Sasori!" She yelled, looking up at him. The redhead looked down at her blankly and she paused before thrashing in his grip, trying to see if Naruto was alright. "Naruto-kun! Answer me! Naruto-kun, are you okay? Naruto-ku—!"

"Shut up!" Deidara snarled, holding the back of his hand over her mouth and taking her from sasori. "We're getting outta here, un! Let's go!" He ordered, taking charge and dragging the struggling Sakura out of the building, onto the clay bird waiting outside. He took his hand off her mouth, only to listen to her calling her boyfriends name.

"Naruto!" She yelled. Deidara's eyes narrowed and he knocked her out, but not before she could whisper one final 'Naruto-kun' into the air.

"Deidara?" Sasori called when he saw the blonde sitting still on the bird, gazing down at the pinkette in his arms.

"...We're leaving, un."


	24. Hinata's Envy, Sasuke's Discovery

Chapter Twenty Four

"SHE BACK!" Tobi called as he ran through the base. Itachi and Kisame looked up from their shoji game and Kakuzu paused in counting the payment from their last mission.

"Who?" Hidan asked casually, rolling his eyes towards the subordinate. Zetsu walked in casually after the hyperactive boy.

"Haruno Sakura has been retrieved by Deidara-san and Sasori-san. She has been taken to her room." Zetsu explained. He then left the room, calling Tobi to go after him.

"She's back, huh?" Kisame hummed, looking back to the board.

"Bound to happen eventually." Kakuzu sighed, flipping a coin into his money pouch. Itachi said nothing, but his eyes kept flicking towards the door that led to the bedrooms. Kisame noticed and chuckled.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Itachi-san, but Hidan-san already beat you to the punch on that one." He stated, amusement flaring when Itachi quickly looked towards the sofa and then back to the doorway that led to the rooms, his eyes narrowing.

—With Sasuke—

Sasuke frowned, watching as Naruto walked past him without a single glance or even a slight glare as he usually would. He knew something was up, but no one was talking. Sakura was missing—he hadn't seen her for days and didn't know where she was—Kakashi was acting strange, avoiding questions, and Naruto seemed depressed. Sasuke was at a loss for what was going on.

He walked up the street, watching as people stared at him, shaking their heads and giving him looks of pity. He twitched. Apparently, he was the only one in all of _Konoha_ who didn't know what was going on. The foreign ninja were leaving today so that they could train in their own villages and then come back in a month. Sasuke watched the gates, waiting for any sign of the Yukigakure ninja so that he could ask if they knew anything about Sakura's disappearance.

"Hey, Uchiha!" A Sand-nin—Kankuro, if he remembered correctly—called with a slight smirk. "I heard what happened. Tough break." He commented as he and his siblings left the village. Sasuke twitched again. It would seem that he was the only one in the _world_ who didn't know what was going on.

"What're you doing here?" A familiar voice asked. Sasuke turned and saw Juhi, accompanied by two very grouchy-looking twins.

"I was looking for you." He told them. "Have you seen Sakura around recently?"

"You mean you don't know?" Taiyoo scoffed, glaring at him as he took off his straw hat. "You must be the only person alive who _doesn't_." He added, not noticing Sasuke twitch for the third time as his belief was confirmed.

"She's long gone." Tsuki muttered scornfully.

"Gone?" Sasuke repeated. "Where?"

"How're we supposed to know?" Juhi sighed. "I can't believe my little sister would betray the village like that, though. She just didn't seem like the type of person to do that."

"Betray the village?" The Uchiha said in shock. Taiyoo knocked him on the head slightly, standing a head above the now annoyed Genin.

"Stop repeating everything. It's annoying." He announced. "And yes, she betrayed your village. Working for the Akatsuki the whole time she was here, apparently."

"Akatsuki?" Sasuke repeated, moving away slightly to avoid another knock to the head. The three Yuki ninja sighed in union and left the village, but not before Tsuki handed Sasuke a piece of paper.

"If she comes back, or if anyone hears anything about her, contact us immediately." Tsuki ordered, leaving with his brother and team mate.

"Wait!" Sasuke called. The turned to look at him. "Aren't you going to stay in case she comes back?" He asked, watching as they smirked and scoffed.

"Nah." Juhi shrugged. "Sakura-chan can't stay in one place too long. She'll be travelling again in no time and we're gonna go round the world to find her. It's a new mission that I'm assigning myself and my team." He chuckled.

"See ya, Uchiha!" Taiyoo laughed. Tsuki pouted and followed the two, all three of them soon fading into the distance. Sasuke looked down at the paper in his hand and sighed, shoving it in his pocket before walking away.

—With Naruto—

"I can't believe it." He said for the fifth time when he got home to his apartment and had fallen onto the sofa. Inari was at school—he promised to take care of the year-younger boy until Sakura came back, because he was sure she would.

He knew that he had been ignoring everyone, Hinata included, but the Hyuuga heiress had become slightly aggressive towards him since Sakura was taken into custody. Now that she had been 'rescued' by Akatsuki, he didn't even want to face the younger Daffodil Maiden. Naruto turned over on the sofa so that he was facing the wall, staring at the peeling paint blankly.

"I wonder if she's okay." He muttered to himself before shaking his head. "No, I can't think of her! She's betrayed me...I mean, Konoha!" Naruto added, scratching the back of his head.

"Good to hear, Naruto." Kakashi, who was sitting on Naruto's window ledge, said as he let himself into the room.

"Sensei!" Naruto acknowledged, jumping off of the sofa. "What're _you_ doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you who your teacher until the final exam will be." He explained with a smile. "And also to say what a mess your apartment is."

"Shut up! And why can't _you_ teach me?" He scoffed, crossing his arms. Kakashi sighed and shrugged.

"I'm busy training Sasuke. He asked first." Kakashi told him. "Don't worry about Inari. I've organised for Sakura's neighbours to take him in until the end of the exams. They'll pick him up after school today. He has his own key to Sakura's house, and so he'll be fine taking some belongings from there."

"Fine." Naruto agreed hesitantly.

"Good. Come to the hospital tomorrow. You'll meet him there."

—With Hinata—

"HYA!" Hinata looked away sadly as she listened to her father training her cousin, who had been acknowledged as superior that the clan heir. The welcome she had received after returning from the exams was far from warm, but she had expected no less.

"I think I'm going to go inside for a while." She said quietly, knowing that no one heard her. Sighing, Hinata stood and walked into her home, stepping quickly to her room and sliding the door closed. Once inside she allowed herself to fall to her bed and cry.

Sakura was gone. Naruto was avoiding her. Her father hated her. She was in a storm of depression, wanting nothing more than for things to return to how they were before graduation. When it was just her, Sakura and Naruto at the ramen bar. She even missed the times when Naruto was mistakenly praised for dating to girls at once, and how Sakura would glare at him until he corrected the one who said it.

However, more than anything else, she missed before Naruto joined their little group. She loved being a duo, just the two of them. It was harsh, and she would never tell Naruto, but the group before he joined was exactly how she liked it. In more ways than one, she believed that having Naruto around ruined their friendship. He took Sakura way from her.

Before Naruto joined them, she believed that she loved him. She would gaze longingly at him in the classroom from the first moment they met in the first year of the academy. Her heart had called to him every time she saw him. The one time their eyes met during a kunai-throwing exercise, she had thought that her heart would stop.

Then she met Sakura.

The cold, uncaring attitude thrown in her direction was a shock, as most in the class at least pretended to like her to get on her family's good side. So, when Sakura did nothing more than ditch her and tell her to get lost, she found her eyes drifting in class from orange and blonde to red and pink.

In the beginning, it was just following her around as the rest of the class tried to get close to her. She at first believed that Sakura enjoyed being alone, that she didn't want people to keep annoying her. So, one day, she decided to stop following the pinkette around. When she got to class the next day, she expected things to be normal, or even a little better since she had left Sakura alone. Then again, the pinkette was always surprising her.

-Flashback-

_Hinata walked into the classroom slowly and made her way to her seat, making sure to keep her head down. When she was at down, she looked around and saw that Sakura wasn't in the room yet. It was odd, since the pinkette was usually the first to arrive. Thinking nothing of it—she had decided to stop annoying Sakura, after all—she turned her face again to the desk._

_**Tap...Tap...Tap...**_

_The sound of feet approaching her desk was nothing new, since she sat just one row from the front and so most people had to walk past her. However, she was shocked when the person sat in the space next to her. Looking up sharply, her vision was obscured with pink. Hinata took in a deep gasp and the rest of the class froze, turning silent. Everything soon returned to normal and Hinata decided to ignore the wimp of the pink-hair girl._

"_Where were you?" Sakura asked quietly. This was the first time Hinata had heard her say anything that wasn't either 'Go away' or 'Whatever'._

"_Wh-What are y-you-you talk-talking abo-bout?" Hinata stuttered meekly. The girl turned and glared at her, taking Hinata's shoulder firmly._

"_Don't. You always follow me around and when I couldn't see you yesterday I thought that something had happened." She told her, a frown marring her angelic features. Hinata's eyes widened._

"_You were w-worried about m-me?" She asked in a whispered tone, too shocked to do anything else. The Haruno's face lit up in a bright shade of pink that could have rivalled her hair and she turned, glaring harshly at Hinata._

"_D-Don't be absurd. I was merely making an observation." She corrected, though Hinata could see through her lie. The Hyuuga smiled slightly and turned away, not seeing how Sakura's eyes softened and a ghost of a smile flitted across her mouth._

-End of Flashback-

Hinata smiled at the memory, tears in her eyes. That was the first sign of acceptance she had ever been shown and, thanks to Sakura, it also wasn't the last. It was that day that marked the start of their friendship, and also the day that Hinata believed to be the happiest day of her life. Then, years later, Sakura accepted Naruto into their group. So as not to appear possessive, Hinata allowed the friendship between the blonde and the pinkette to flourish, but she had never expected it to grow so much.

She wasn't blind. She could see love when it was right in front of her. The way Naruto had looked at Sakura on their way into the hall from the second exam; the way he had called out to her during her preliminary. Hinata knew that she had already lost her best friend to the boy. She also knew, thanks to her family name and the privileges that came with being associated with such a strong clan, that Sakura had been taken from the village by two members of Akatsuki.

Tugging her pre-packed bag from under her bed, Hinata pulled it onto her back and looked out of the window at the setting sun. She nodded once to herself in confidence and walked towards the compound exit.

"I'm getting my friend back."

—With Sakura—

"Why?!" Sakura screamed, not know how many times she had yelled previously since she had woken up, only to find herself locked in her old room at the Akatsuki base in Amegakure. She fell to her knees, hugging herself in despair and looking around frantically for an exit. Of course there wasn't one. Of course they wouldn't let her escape. She had betrayed them. She would be killed.

Sakura grabbed her head, trying to calm the range of emotions that tried to escape all at once. Just as an Uchiha was fated to fall into their own insanity, just as a Senju was bound by destiny to lose all of those close to them, a Haruno was destined to become a slave to their emotions when their Kekkei Genkai goes out of control. She gulped and sighed shakily, trying to stand and made her way to her bed.

"Done screaming?" A voice from the door asked. Sakura ignored the speaker as she heard the lock click. The door opened and a tall, broad figure stepped into the room.

"What do you want, Hidan?" Her voice was hoarse and gruff from screaming so much and her face was stained from the hot tears that had spilled over her cheeks.

"You look like shit." Hidan commented bluntly as he took her face in his hands, glaring at her. "Why did you do it? Why did you fucking betray the Akatsuki like that, Sakura? Do you know how much shit you put me through?"

"Right." She scoffed, pulling away from her closets acquaintance in the Akatsuki and sniffing. "I just got kidnapped from Konoha and now the guy I like probably thinks I completely betrayed him."

"You _did_ betray Konoha." The Jashinist rolled his eyes. Sakura shook her head and sighed again.

"I know I betrayed the village, but...I would _never_ try to purposefully hurt Naruto-kun." She smirked, shaking her head once more. Hidan looked at her in amazement and huffed.

"Why can't you show that kind of loyalty to Akatsuki, huh?" He questioned, looking at her trembling hands.

"Akatsuki isn't loyal to me. Akatsuki doesn't care about me. Akatsuki doesn't treat me like I'm the only important person in the world, like I'm the only one that matters." She laughed humourlessly. "I have no loyalty towards the Village Hidden in the Leaves. My loyalty lies with Uzumaki Naruto."

"I see, un." Deidara said from the door, glaring at Sakura when her head snapped in his direction. "What? Surprised? I _am_ the one who brought you back, after all." He smirked angrily. "Hidan—get out."

"No way. I don't trust you when you have that crazy look in your eye." Hidan refused, standing and clenching his fists, not allowing Deidara to see the pinkette behind him. This only increased Deidara's anger. "What're you gonna do to he—?"

"GET OUT!" He yelled, grabbing Hidan's arm and throwing him out of the room, locking the door after him. He turned back to Sakura, only to see that she wasn't on the bed anymore. Deidara turned to his left in just enough time to dodge the fist aimed at his head. He caught her hand and pulled her closer, his face close enough to hers for them to feel each other's breath.

"What do you want from me? Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" She demanded to know, flinching when Deidara let out one dry, rough laugh with no humour in it.

"What do _I_ want?" He repeated. "I want you to forget the Kyuubi-brat, forget the Hyuuga chick and just accept the fact that you're in the Akatsuki for good; you're never getting out unless you die." The crazy look in Deidara's eyes left and he relaxed slightly, pulling Sakura closer to him. "Why can't you just stay here and be happy?"

"Happiness and hatred don't exactly go hand-in-hand and, to be honest, I hate this place and the people in it." She told him honestly, brushing away his bang and looking into his blue eyes. "Why couldn't you just let me be happy, Deidara?" She asked, a tear trailing down her cheek. Deidara stepped back and looked at her in shock.

"I can't...I can't let you stay in Konoha. Think about it!" He said to her softly, his tone showing the desperation he had for needed her to see things through his eyes. "They were all so quick to reject you when they found out why you even came to the village in the first place. Heck, even after you told them everything about Akatsuki, they—"

"I didn't tell them anything." She cut in. Deidara looked at her in surprise and opened his mouth, but froze when he saw her face. She was glaring at him, her teeth bared in a snarl. "Now get out."

Deidara sighed and left the room, bumping into Hidan as he left. The Jashinist closed the door and grinned murderously at the blonde, who gulped slightly but didn't let his fear show in his eyes.

"I think we need to talk." Hidan said calmly, dragging the pyromaniac down the hall.

Neither noticed the red eyes staring at Sakura's door.


	25. Escaping the Village and Insolent Girls

Chapter Twenty Five

Naruto had just left the hospital, completely disappointed with the teacher Kakashi had found for him. He sighed heavily and shook his head, smiling in sorrow as he passed by the bookshop, remembering when Sakura lectured him on reading the 'inspiring' magazines. He scowled, rubbing his forehead and trying to rid himself of the memory.

"I can't be thinking about Sakura-chan." He scolded himself. "She betrayed Konoha. She betrayed me."

_**BAM!**_

"OWW!" Naruto complained, holding the back of his head where he had been hit by something that felt like a rock. He turned quickly and his eyes widened, seeing a furious Hinata. "Hinata-chan!"

"Shut up!" She ordered. Naruto took a step back, seeing the murderous glint in her usually passive eyes. "How dare you?! Sakura-chan was nothing but nice to you, and this is how you thank her! You have _no_ trust in her at all!"

"What're you talking about?" Naruto growled, baring his teeth at the Hyuuga heiress. "She's been working for the Akatsuki! To get to me! She _used_ me!"

"No!" She denied. "She would never! How can you think that?! Sakura-chan was being used by _them_!"

"How...How do you know that?" He asked, unsure how to react to what she was saying. Hinata's eyes filled with tears.

"She's been dropping hints for years. I...I can't believe I never saw it. All those times when she said she had to go and meet someone...when she came back, covered in cuts and bruises. When she would always ask me to hang out with her, even though she knew I was busy." Hinata began to cry. "I'm so _stupid_!"

"Wait! You're telling me that Sakura-chan didn't betray us? Then...Then why did Akatsuki come to get her?" Naruto demanded to know, thoroughly confused.

"They pr-probably didn't want their se-secrets getting out." She stuttered through drying tears, pulling her backpack tighter on her back. "I'm going after her."

"I'm coming too!" Naruto announced, his face set with determination. Hinata spared him a cold glance when he wasn't looking and glared.

"A-Alright, Naruto." She nodded, turning away from him. Naruto noticed the drop in suffix. "But, when we f-find her...Stay away from her." The girl threatened, her glare causing Naruto to shiver. "Okay?" She asked perkily, a happy smile instantly replacing the glare.

"Scary." He whispered, following his new alley towards the gates. She shoved a cape at him as she pulled up the hood on her own brown one. "What's this for?"

"We're sneaking out of here." Hinata told him, facing the crowd. "And they're helping us."

—With Hidan and Deidara—

"YOU MORON!" Hidan yelled. "You Jashin fucked heretic!"

"Are you just going to insult me, or are you going somewhere with this?" The blonde asked in a bored tone. Hidan's eyes lit up with rage and he grabbed Deidara's collar and held him up against the wall.

"Shut your mouth, shit face." He growled. "Now listen, and listen well. I don't give a fuck about your undying love for Sakura-san—"

"I don't love her!"

"—but you need to get your head straight!" He finished. Deidara paused, glaring at Hidan with hate.

"What're you talking about, Old Man?" He scoffed. Hidan rolled his eyes at the name and continued.

"Out of everyone here, you're the closest to Sakura in age. Well, physically—no one can be sure about your mental age, after all, psycho." He snorted, dropping Deidara on the ground. "So grow up a bit. She's never gonna pick Akatsuki over that Kyuubi kid if the only person she can get along with is bad-mouthed Jashinist who is always tempted to use her as a sacrifice."

"You want to sacrifice her?"

"Oh for the love of—Deidara! Would you focus?! There's only one was to get her to be more loyal to Akatsuki than she is to the Jinchuuriki." Hidan sighed. "The Jutsu."

"You don't mean—?"

"Of course I fucking mean it! I wouldn't have said it otherwise!" He ground out, resisting the urge to punch the blonde all the way back to Iwa. "And you're the only one I'd allow to do it."

"Why?" Deidara asked, genuinely curious as to why he had permission to use _that_ on Hidan's favourite Akatsuki member.

"Well, let's make a fucking _list_, shall we?" He said sarcastically. "You and Itachi are the teenagers—close to her age—and you actually fucking _love_ her!"

"I do not!"

"So, it's my opinion that you'd look after her better if the full effects occur." He finished. "And that's all there is to it."

"...So, what now?"

"GO CAST THE FUCKING JUTSU!"

—With Orochimaru—

'_Kabuto is an idiot.'_ The Sannin realised quite suddenly during lunch. His reason for this epiphany was the subject of Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. When Kabuto had found the last Uchiha for the Snake-nin and infiltrated the exams, he had overlooked the possibility that a shadow from their past was lurking behind the Uchiha, by the side of a certain Jinchuuriki.

Having a Haruno by his side to protect and serve him had always been a dream of Orochimaru, ever since he had met Haruno Amarante—coincidentally, Sakura's great grandmother. She had enchanted him with her green eyes and bright red hair, and only further drew him to her when she used her Kekkei Genkai to save Tsunade from certain death at the hands of a Hoshi. It was during his first mission out of the village and they had been charged with the protection of a scroll that needed instant delivery to the clan head—her father.

She was twenty four and already married—he was thirteen and experiencing his first crush. It was a match that was never made, and Orochimaru only looks back on it as an embarrassing story to tell himself sometimes when he forgets his humanity. He was visiting again in her village three years later at the age of sixteen and she had shown him a baby—her son. If Orochimaru had known the boy would grow to be a ruthless and cruel as he did, well, he might have taken him along with him back to Konoha.

However, he was very glad that he didn't. After all, if Orochimaru had taken Amarante's child, Haruno Sakura would have never been born. The pride of the Haruno clan and a prodigy who's name spread across the world before she was ten. As soon as word of her defection from her village had reached his ear, Orochimaru personally set out to find her, with or without permission from his 'Leader'. And find her he did.

The child was everything he knew she would be. Cautious, calculating and strong, with a hint of naivety. Perfect. Drawing her in to his scheme was the easiest thing he ever did—it was proven that she had lived a life sheltered from sly humans that would say anything to get their way. A foolish mistake on her father's part. There was one thing, however, that almost made him change his mind about giving her the curse seal. A minute bump in the road to his ascension to power.

She had Amarante's eyes.

Nonetheless, he quickly pushed that aside and continued his plan. What he wasn't expecting was for Pein to be so interested in her. Certainly not to want to have control over her through the seal. Needless to say, Orochimaru was less than happy to give Pein the key to a Haruno's power, but in order to remain in Akatsuki long enough to sway Uchiha Itachi to his side, he needed to oblige in any way possible.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto called as he stepped into the room. "Is something the matter? You haven't moved in five minutes."

"Is that so?" Orochimaru hummed with a slightly chuckle. "It's nothing, Kabuto-kun. I just think that it's about time we collect our little blossom and bring her to Otogakure, where she belongs."

"Very well, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto bowed, leaving as Orochimaru began to laugh loudly at his own insane genius.

—With Sakura—

_Knock, knock_

"Go away, Deidara!" Sakura called, burring her face in her pillow. The door opened and she heard someone stepping inside. "I said go aw—"

"I am not Deidara, and therefore that warning does not apply to me." A deep voice commented, closing the door. Sakura immediately shot up from her bed and entered a fighting stance.

"Itachi. What do you want?" She asked, flinching when he used his speed to get closer to her. Itachi took her arm gently and pulled it down to her side, his eyes never leaving her face. Sakura boldly kept eye-contact.

"You're a traitor to both Konoha and Akatsuki." He stated bluntly, letting go of her arm and turning away from her. "I do not understand how you can still have attachments to a village that shuns you."

"You have attachments to some_one_ who _hates_ you." Sakura retorted. "I know all about your brother, Itachi. He was on my team and loved to blab about his horrible past. However, no matter how much of a bastard you are, I know you well enough to know you wouldn't kill your family in cold blood."

"So?" Itachi asked through gritted teeth, his firsts clenching. He hated that Sakura could easily stir his anger without even trying.

"I did some research—"

"Stuck your nose where it didn't belong."

"—and I found the mission file." She carried on, ignoring the interruption as Hidan had ignored Deidara previously. The Uchiha froze. "Is it true? Did Konoha force you to kill off your entire clan?"

"Yes." Itachi told her.

"Then I guess you're not as bad as it thought you were." She added.

"What're you talking about?" Itachi snarled, turning around to face the girl with a glare. "I killed my family on an order."

"Not quite." She smirked. "You failed your mission. The assignment was the massacre of the Uchiha clan. However, you missed one."

"...Sasuke..." Itachi whispered. "Is he okay?"

"Apart from dedicating his life to revenge, you mean?" She asked sarcastically.

"You never fail to annoy me, Haruno." Itachi growled. "I hate that about you. It's just your personality, even when you're not acting like yourself. Before I met you, no one could make me feel anger, nor pride, joy...jealousy, guilt." He paused to sigh. "How is it that just one girl can change someone so much?"

"The same way one Jinchuuriki could change me." Sakura smiled slightly. "Just by being himself."

"Aa." Itachi sighed, looking away. Sakura was quick to take his chin in her hands, having to stand on her toes to do so, and made him face her. There was a wicked glint in her eye and Itachi didn't like it one bit.

"Jealousy, huh?"

"Be quiet, insolent girl."

—With Naruto and Hinata—

"Keep your head down." Hinata hissed under her breath, tugging Naruto's hair and pulling his hood further down.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Naruto whined. "I preferred you when you were quiet!"

"That's exactly what _you_ should be!" She growled at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He complained when she dug her elbow into his side harshly. "I'm no good at sneaking. Can't we just jump out and hit them a couple of times?"

"Idiot." Hinata muttered. "What chance does a pair of Genin have against the Chunin that guard the gates, huh? None!"

"But, what if I use—?"

"If you say Kage Bunshin, I will kill you." The Hyuuga threatened. Naruto shut up instantly. "It's your signature move now! Everyone'll know it's you. And besides, Sakura-chan's in danger! What'll happen if we're caught now?" Hinata said to him, noticing the stiffness enter his shoulders and Naruto removed Hinata's hand from his hair.

"Let's go." He muttered, blending perfectly with the crowd as the two of them escaped the village. They walked on for a bit until they were two of the one ones left on the path, as the others had moved to the trees for quicker travel. The girl grabbed his cloak and dragged him towards the forest, where the stopped to talk. Once they were out of view, Naruto turned to the Hyuuga, both removing their hoods.

"Finally. I can't believe we got out so eaily." Hinata sighed in relief.

"Okay, Hinata, where to now?"

"...I don't know..."


	26. The Build Up

Chapter Twenty Six

"We're lost."

"No, we're not."

"Then where are we."

"Fire Country."

"Duh! I mean specifically."

"I'm surprised you know a word that long."

"I preferred you when you were shy."

"And I prefer it when you shut up!" Hinata growled, frustrated with his constant blabbering. "I'm trying to figure out where she is!" She added, turning away and furiously wiping tears from her eyes. "I...I miss her so much." She began to sob and Naruto, not used to dealing with crying girls, froze.

"Err, Hinata? I...I was only kidding about the whole 'shy' thing." He laughed nervously. "This 'new you' is very...err...controlling." She cried even harder. "In a good way!"

"Oh, be qu-quiet." She choked, wiping away her tears again. "We ha-have to f-find her."

'_She's acting. Hinata can't take this, so she's putting on a mask to cover up how scared she really is.'_ Naruto realised, having gotten much better and reading people after spending so much time with Sakura. _'Under all that yelling, she's still the nervous, timid girl I know, and she's crying out for help.'_

"Come on." She said, gulping down her crying. "W-We have to—We have...Oh, why?! Why can't I keep it t-together?!" Hinata demanded when her tears began to fall again."

"You're an emotional person, Hinata." Naruto stepped in, not knowing what to do, but wanting to comfort the girl anyway. "You're not used to bottling up this much pain. Before, you had Sakura-chan to talk to, but...I guess I really did take her away from you, huh?"

"N-No kidding." She scoffed.

"Stop it." Naruto demanded firmly, getting a shocked reaction from the Hyuuga heiress. "From here on out, we're partners. You can be the brains and I'll be the brawn. Eventually, we're bound to get Sakura-chan back, but only if we work together. No masks, no pretending and Hinata-chan?"

"What?"

"If you need to cry...just cry."

—With Sakura—

Itachi had left a while ago, having had enough of her teasing him about what he revealed. She sighed—with all her time away, Sakura had forgotten just how _boring_ the base was. So, gathering up the emotionless facade she had discarded when she met Naruto, she exited her room and walked down the hall. Looked at the blank walls, it reminded her of how empty her house in Konoha was before she met Hinata.

No picture, just walls. After she and Hinata became friends—of sorts—a few photos of them were hung on the walls. Of course, she secretly kept a picture of them in kimonos from Hinata's birthday on her desk and also a picture of her first Konoha crush, Hinata's cousin Neji, under her pillow. Well, it was, until she decided that he wasn't as cute as her first _ever_ crush, Tsuki, and she had thrown it away. It was unfortunate that she had no pictures of her brother or team mates.

When she and Naruto became friends, a lot of group photos of the three of them cluttered the walls—Naruto always grinning widely, Hinata smiling and blushing and Sakura looking blank. Her favourite picture of all was one that Hinata had taken of her and Naruto. He had decided that he wanted at least one special photo of Sakura smiling, no matter what, and so moments before the picture was taken he placed his fingertips at the corners of her mouth and pulled her lips into an awkward smile.

She had none of that here. The members never posed for photos or anything, and didn't even keep pictures for memories of their past. It was almost like an unspoken rule, and Sakura had never minded. She had no real photographic evidence of a happy childhood other than her team photo, which was burned by her father when he found out that she had kept it. 'Unwanted bonds', he had laughed as he threw it in the fire, just as he had done before with the picture of her mother.

"Sakura-chan?" Deidara called nervously from behind her. Sakura turned to see what he wanted, only to be tackled to the floor.

"D-Deidara! What the hell?!" She growled at him, trying to push him off but he only held tighter. He looked down at her, preparing to use the jutsu—just as Hidan had said—but found that he couldn't.

"Sorry." He muttered, getting up and walking away.

—With Hidan and Deidara—

"You did what?!" Hidan yelled at the blonde angrily.

"More like what I _didn't_ do." Deidara scoffed, not taking the situation as seriously as he should have been. "I...I just couldn't. That jutsu would twist her memories."

"You could make her fall in love with you." The Jashinist tempted. Deidara shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but I would've known it was fake." He sighed. "And besides, every victim of that jutsu so far has gone insane and killed themselves. Like you said, I really like her. I just couldn't do it."

"So you're just gonna let the Kyuubi kid have her?" Hidan grinned slightly, watching as Deidara froze.

"Are you kidding? I'm merciful, not an idiot. And besides, I'm _way_ too selfish for _that_."

—With Naruto and Hinata...again—

...Hinata's Point of View...

We had been travelling for a week and were only just leaving Fire Country. I'm tired and hungry, but Naruto looks like he's just come back from a day spa with a complimentary buffet. Jealousy stirred within me. I knew that if he hadn't come along, I would probably be sitting in the middle of a forest, lost somewhere without a clue of what to do next.

It's true that Naruto has even less of an idea what to do, but he's determined enough to go through with whatever he can think of and deal with the consequences afterwards. I wish, sometimes, that I could be more like him—maybe then Sakura would like me more. No, she still likes me. It's just...she likes him more. He knows her better than I ever could. I'm being selfish, trying to keep him away from her.

Then again, he's being selfish too. What if Sakura doesn't want him to stop seeing her? How could he so readily agree to stay away from her when he knows full well that she'd miss him horribly? How selfish could he be? He...He...He would never go through with it. I know that as soon as we find her, he'll forget about his promise. They'll both sit and talk and kiss and forget all about the little, lonely heiress.

I'm never going to win.

...Naruto's Pint of View...

I'm scared. Hinata keeps looking at me like she's going to kill be or something and I can't even keep up with her mood swings anymore. One second she's crying and then she bossing me around like I'm her slave. The only reason I'm still with her now is because I just have this feelings that we'll find Sakura sooner rather than later.

Then again, it could just be gas.

It's not fair that the bad things always seem to happen to her. She had a father that tried to use her as a weapon—at least she had a brother and team mates to balance things out. Her first kill was before she turned five. I don't think I had even killed a _bug_ before I turned seven. Seven. Ah yes, Team Seven. I wonder how Sasuke's taking it? First Sakura gets taken away and now I've left the village to search for her. For once, it seems like _he's_ the one being left behind.

Oh well. It's not like he ever really cared what we did. The one I'm really worried about is Inari. Poor kid. Pretty soon, we're gonna have to take him back to Tsunami and Tazuna. Being a ninja, Sakura doesn't have the sort of time she needs to look after a kid, let alone do that _and_ keep up with training. She'll be crushed, but she'd understand.

"What the—?" An older voice hummed as he appeared suddenly on the road in front of us. "What're you kids doing here?"

"Who're you, old man?" I demanded, watching as Hinata shook slightly in fear of the older ninja.

"Me? Why, I'm the greatest and most powerful ninja in the world!" He stated boastfully. "Not to mention an amazing writer!"

"Eh?"

—A Week Later—

The old man turned out to be a Sannin—Jiraiya. Who would've guessed? And he's a real perv, too. She may not be on the top of my friend's list at the moment, but I made sure to keep him away from Hinata. I have to give him credit, though; he had enough self-respect not to go for underage girls. That and he's actually really strong.

He said that he's taking us to a village in Rain Country called Amegakure. There was a hot rumour that the Akatsuki base was either in or near to the Rain Village. So, that's why we're here. However, the old man _has_ to stop at every hot spring, clothes shop and bar we pass, leaving me and Hinata outside so that he can do his 'research'. Oh yeah, did I mention that he's the author of those dirty books Kakashi-sensei reads? Geez, what a rip. I hate this!

Well, I suppose I should stop complaining. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be any closer to finding Sakura. In fact, I think we'd be further away. I know he's not that interested in finding her, but more so in finding Akatsuki. It's my job—he said—to get Sakura away from them so that he doesn't think she's a target as well. I wonder though...is she, technically, a target? I mean, the Akatsuki came after her and although the Hokage is saying they kidnapped her, I was there when it happened. I saw the recognition in her eyes when she saw them—she knows them. So, is she an Akatsuki too?

No, I can't be thinking about this. I can't hesitate. That's what Ero-Sannin told me, at least. He heard I was in the last rounds of the Chunin exams and so, since I had 'impressed him by hanging out with two girls', he said that he'd train me for the exams. I don't think I'll get back in time, and I told him so, but he also said that if I wanted to save my friend from Akatsuki, I'd need to be as strong as possible.

So, here I am. In the woods, travelling with a perverted sage and a girl whose mood swings are more frequent than Sakura-chan's glares.

How did I get myself into this?

—With Pein—

She's back. The very bane of my existence. The girl who continues to slip through my net and disrespect me to such a degree that if it were anyone else I would have them killed. Not her, though. No, I am not in love with her like that oaf, Deidara. I actually believe her to be nothing more than a pest doing everything in her power to prevent the new world from being a reality. She's nothing like Konan.

Konan bends to my every whim, she's obedient. She knows her place, by my side with her ideas kept to herself. As is expected of an angel, to be submissive to her God. No, this brat is far from an angel. She is the devil, set out to destroy any chance of peace. Orochimaru's plan to corrupt the Akatsuki. He knew all along that at least one member of my organisation would get attached to her, and as such I cannot kill her unless I want an uprising against me.

He's a brilliant man; Orochimaru. He can put ideas in people's heads and twist their thinking to make it believe the idea was there's to begin with. He never had me fool—not for a second. I am no fool, and therefore he cannot make me what I am not.

I suppose, in a way, I am as much of a buffoon as Deidara. Not for falling in _love_ with the girl, but for ever allowing her into my army for the new world. I saw her weakness from the start, but Orochimaru only saw what would develop into her strength. That is the difference between he and I. Orochimaru sees what people may become if they take a certain road in life—I see what people _are_. I have no time for fools who _may_ become strong with the proper prompting. Itachi is ruthless, Kisame is bloodthirsty, Deidara is a pyromaniac, Kakuzu will to anything for money and Hidan needs to perform rituals involving corpses. Then there's Sasori, who is merely bored with life, and Zetsu, who is the only one other than Konan and I who currently knows of the true leader of Akatsuki.

All of them are fools.

Itachi believes that he had no choice but to join after being forced to kill his clan for his village. He doesn't know that I had Zetsu change the mission document—the part that stated that Konoha would grant him immunity and cover up the whole event. He can see through any illusion, but he cannot see what is right in front of him. I needed someone who could kill without a second though.

Kisame was rejected from the world. I promised him acceptance, and the fool took the bait. Never would the world accept one as deformed and vicious as he, so he settled for fear. I needed someone who had a reputation—he was a swordsman of the Mist—so that my organisation would be known.

Deidara is weak. Emotions always swam in his heart, driving him to do what he pleased, and he was never strong against illusions. He is easily swayed. If you give him something to blow up, he's yours. So much weakness in someone with such a unique bloodline. Trust me, if there was someone else in the world with his ability, Deidara would still be a hired terrorist. However, I needed someone who could cause mass chaos from a distance without using too much chakra.

The others were strong and with their own pasts that made them all easy to control. Really, I had believed building an organisation of powerful criminals would be hard, but no.

Then _she_ came.

The girl who ruined absolutely _**EVERYTHING**_!

It was to be expected that Deidara would fall for her—the boy had no interactions with females around his own age other than her and he was only human, unfortunately. Kisame only liked her because she was blunt—she didn't accept his appearance, she was brutally honest about what she thought about him, in fact. Hidan liked her attitude and tried many times to convert her to Jashinism, but failed. Even Itachi accepted her, although the only sign of this was when he fought Orochimaru to keep her here.

This one little girl had managed to undermine my whole organisation and bring half of my minions to her side. If they had to choose between me and her, I know who they would pick to side with. The only ones who didn't like her were Zetsu, Konan, Madara and I. Konan believed she was an annoyance and Zetsu just wanted to eat her. Madara also knew that she could be the one who broke the Akatsuki and I hate her with all my being.

Well, she's in the base.

I'm sure Zetsu wouldn't mind dinner a little early.

—With Sasuke—

Hn.

I've been ditched.

—With Itachi—

Hn. We've been found, I see. A small group of three from Konoha are on their way to Rain, but it seems to be taking them a while to get here. They have the speed of Genin, but it comes from a reliable source that they are after the Akatsuki. I'm not sure who they are, but I believe that I know what, or rather _who_, they are after.

They should know better, really. We're not going to give her back after expending the effort of deploying a team to get her here. Do they honestly think she's getting out of here and going back with them? Fools. There is no reason for them to actually believe we are going to simply hand her over. We'd more likely kill them all. If it is taking them so long to arrive, they cannot be high-level ninja at all, or at least weak.

Her safety is not assured here, though. Leader has been very tense, sending us out on missions without thinking to place teams of more experience on said missions. For example, he sent Hidan and Kakuzu on a reconnaissance mission just yesterday. That sort of mission is typically Zetsu's job, while Hidan and Kakuzu are better for bounty hunting. Honestly.


	27. Fear on a Long Night

Chapter Twenty Seven

She panted, kicking the air again and again. Sakura had fallen behind in her training since the Akatsuki had reclaimed her and she had decided to go outside to get back into shape. She knew Pein would be furious with her for leaving her room, but he could stuff it in her opinion. He was too weak—not in strength, but in mind—to boss her around. Honestly, did he really believe that anyone supported his desire for peace?

Sakura was no fool, no matter what Pein might think. She knew that Naruto and Hinata were coming for her. She had overheard Kisame and Itachi talking about a group of ninja perusing the Akatsuki to retrieve her, and no one other than her friends would bother. It was sweet of them, but she knew that when they arrived, she would kick them back home. They didn't need to get involved in her life any more. They deserved better.

Much better, in fact, and Sakura knew that the only way they would get that was for them to give up on her. So, for that to happen, she would need to get a message to them, to basically let them know that she doesn't need rescuing—at least, not by them. She knew that her brother and the twins weren't going to come for her, since they would just wait until she gets out before they try to find her. They weren't idiot, and they knew that none of them stood a chance against an S-Class criminal. In fact, if Sakura were to truly become a missing nin, she would only be A-Rank at the most, a high B-Class nin if she didn't quickly find some technique to make up for her out-of-control Kekkei Genkai.

"Hello, Sakura-san!" She heard someone call from the door. Turning, her vision was filled with blue. Despite his size, Kisame really was fast enough to get from the door to her nose in the time it took her to turn around.

"Hey, Kisame-san." Sakura greeted politely. After all, Kisame was polite to her, so she had no reason to be rude—unlike a certain pair of long-hair Akatsuki members. "Can I help you?"

"No—I'm here to help you." Kisame stated with a serious expression. "While I can't get you out of here, I _can_ hide you."

"Why do I need hiding?"

"Zetsu's hungry and Pein gave him permission to have some cotton candy." He said, tugging slightly on a lock of her hair. Sakura's eyes widened—Zetsu was _way_ out of her league—and followed Kisame when he walked briskly towards the door.

'_Great...If Zetsu finds me, I'll never survive the night.'_

—With Naruto—

The trio finally made it to Rain with little resistance, but had to don hooded cloaks to prevent too much suspicion. Now, while Naruto believed that three people walking around with hoods over their heads was more suspicious than three people casually walking around the city, he was not going to argue with Jiraiya when they were potentially so close to Sakura.

"Hey, old man, how much further?" He asked, his voice croaking slightly due to lack of water.

"Not far. Hinata-chan, could you shut him up?"

"H-Hai, Jiraiya-sama." Hinata nodded, giving Naruto a quickly 'Gentle-Fist'-style hit in the arm. Naruto grumbled and rubbed his now aching limb as three men closed in on the group.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

—With Sakura—

I have been hiding for three days now. Just going from place to place in the Rain Village, keeping my head down like all the others who lived here. I knew that Pein didn't like me, but I didn't think that he would actually feed me to Zetsu any time soon. Feeling familiar chakra, I paused and looked around, seeing three cloaked figures, one much taller than the others, being spoken to by Hidan and Kakuzu.

My eyes widened when one of them took off their cloak. It was Naruto. As in, the boy I had abandoned in Konoha. He really did come to find me—he and Hinata, I realised when the other small person dropped their hood. They had also brought the Sannin, Jiraiya. Is that boy and idiot? He knew that Akatsuki were after the beast inside him, and yet he came along to get her anyway

She saw that Hidan was about to knock out the blonde, while Kakuzu was readying himself to kill Hinata and battle with Jiraiya. Sakura knew that she could help—she knew Hidan well enough to know that if you kept his head away from his body, he'd be about as dangerous as a blunt kunai. As for Kakuzu—he was very powerful, but would leave you alone if you offered him enough money to do so.

Stepping forwards, Sakura took a deep breath.

"Leave them alone."

—Kakuzu—

"Leave them alone!"

It's her. The girl with the bright, twinkling eyes and the flowing—well, not since she cut it—hair, as well as that god awful, squeaky voice and the overly-large forehead. Or, as I liked to call her, the colossal waste of money. She ate our food, like a member, she used our water and electricity, like a member, and she had her own room, like a member. This girl wasn't even supposed to _be_ a member in the first place.

She's just a brat who can't even complete a mission without her _feelings_ getting in the way. I turned slowly and glared at her, though she didn't seem to notice in the least. Her eyes were trained on the Jinchuuriki. Hmm; I thought Zetsu was supposed to eat her a few days ago—she had disappeared, and it was only natural to assume. Well, I might as well end her little hero-act.

"Haruno." I called. "You betrayed the Akatsuki." I added, seeing her roll her eyes as if it were obvious. Well, it was rather obvious, but it's only natural that I say something like that. Adds drama and distracts people long enough for...

—Naruto—

"Let her go!" I growled, seeing the silver-haired one holding Hinata with a kunai to her throat. He grinned slightly, an insane look in his eye as he drew a line of blood from her cheek.

"Hidan! Leave Hinata-chan alone. This isn't her fight." Sakura told him calmly, somehow appearing beside him and pulling the kunai from his hands, kicking Hinata towards the pervy sage. Her eyes looked dead.

"Sakura-chan?" I called, my voice tight. I hadn't seen her since the Akatsuki took her and now, here she was, a girl who had turned her back on Yukigakure, Konohagakure and—from the sounds if it—Akatsuki itself.

"Naruto-kun...you're missing the Chunin Exams." She told me. I wanted to scream at her—she's more important that becoming a sticking Chunin. I could stay a Genin for life if she would just come back to Konoha and promise to stay there with me forever—of course, I would then become Hokage.

"This is ridiculous." The man known as Hidan groaned and the next thing I knew, there was a slight pinch on my neck and everything went dark.

--

I woke up in a tent—it was kind of warm, so this cannot be Amegakure. Sitting up instantly, I looked around. No Hinata, no Jiraiya and no Sakura. I didn't know why I was here—if the Akatsuki still had me, I probably wouldn't be waking up at all. The tent open and someone came inside—the pervy sage.

"Ero-Sannin...what's going on?" I asked. For once, he ignored the nickname and gained a sombre look.

"Sneaking in didn't work. They have Sakura and they had Hinata-chan now, but I managed to get you out of there." He told me. My whole body felt hotter as I became furious with him. The man opened his mouth to talk, but I spoke before he could.

"Why did you leave them there?! Sakura-chan's safety was the whole point of this mission! And Hinata-chan can't survive around those criminals—she's too delicate!" I roared at him. He sent me a guilty look and sighed.

"I know. That's why we're sneaking in tonight, to get them both back. We'll be going directly to the tower—that's where they're keeping them." Jiraiya said, handing me some dark clothes. I took off my usual attire and pulled on the black shirt and black trousers, wrapping dark grey bandages around the ends and pulling on the black sandals. I then wrapped dark grey bandages around my wrists to keep the ends of the shirt from catching on anything.

"Now what?" I asked, turning to see Jiraiya in a similar outfit. The older man pulled a mask over his head that covered everything except his eyes before handing a similar one to me. I pulled it on and nodded to the sage as we both left the forest, heading again towards Amegakure.

'_I'll save them.'_

—Hinata—

My eyes opened slowly in the dark, damp room I was being contained in. A vague recollection of being knocked out hit me like a cold fist. Soft breathing beside me drew my attention to my left, but I couldn't see anything other than a small figure with short hair. Squinting my eyes, I made out the facial features and I gasped.

"S-Sakura-chan?" I muttered, hearing the girl stir slightly next to me. Her eyes opened and blinked twice before meet mine. Her green eyes looked so colourless in the lack of light and I wished I could see the emerald shine.

"Hinata-chan?" She asked, her forehead creasing in a frown that I could barely make out. "Your eyes glow." Sakura murmured, her eyes lowering before snapping open again—they had obviously sedated her. She shook her head and I felt tears spring to my eyes.

"It's really you." I whispered, reaching out to her in the darkness. Suddenly, her eyes lit up a demonic red and she grinned, sharp teeth shining.

"Hinata!" She growled, reaching a hand forwards and clawing me across the face, drawing blood. I screamed as the vision melted away, revealing a lighter room—I could make out short pink hair on the person standing protectivly in front of me.

"Leave her alone, Itachi." She stated angrily, her tone sharp as the door closed and the person who was there left. Sakura sighed, settling herself down opposite the door while I stared at her.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, it's really me this time." Sakura told me with a nod. "Itachi got you with a genjutsu before. Don't worry about it." She added, looking away. "Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel any pain?"

"J-Just my cheek." I replied, rubbing it. My eyes widened when I felt a trail of blood forming there.

"Sorry about that. It was the only way I could wake you up." Sakura said, looking at me with a shrug. "But, I think you'll forgive me, since I know how bad Itachi's Genjutsu can get."

"From experience, eh, Sakura-chan?" An amused voice called from the door. I looked up sharply and saw a blonde teenager standing there with his arms crossed, looking at me like I was nothing more than a scratch on his kunai. He turned to Sakura and his eyes changed. He looked at her...like she looked at Naruto.

"Deidara, get out of here." Sakura snarled, standing in front of me. "Unless you're going to help us escape, I don't want to see your face."

"But I have such a nice face." He whined, stepping towards her.

"Another step and that _nice face_ of yours will be all over the wall." She threatened seriously, her eyes set on his face. I knew, from years of being her friend, that she was not only serious, but that she could follow through with the actions she was warning of.

"Sa-Sakura-chan." I called, my hand grabbing onto hers as I stood next to her, watching as her eyes flicked towards me and then back to him. The teenager, Deidara, smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, Sa-Sakura-chan. You don't want to do that in front of your friend now, do you? And you know what would happen if you took any action against one of us right now." He laughed. "You're very much a prisoner here, Sakura-chan. In more ways that your little friend." He added, leaving and locking the door.

"What did he m-mean?" I asked, seeing her look away. She pulled her collar down and my eyes widened when I saw a curse mark on her neck. It was bold and free, no seal, meaning that it could still cause her unimaginable pain if she disobayed them.

"This is the reason, Hinata-chan. This little mark is why I entered Akatsuki and accepted the mission to become a Konoha ninja." She began. "I never meant to make friend, other than with the target, Naruto. That was only because I needed it to be easy when it came to lurring him out of the village."

"Then...why...?"

"Did I befriend you?" She suggested as I nodded. "I guess it was because I was lonely. You're a really nice person, Hinata-chan, and it's hard for someone not to like you. You and Naruto-kun are the reason that I abandoned that mission recently. I betrayed Akatsuki, not Konoha, and they set me up to be capture because of it. That was my punishment."

"For all of us to think you were a traitor?" I asked, my eyes welling up with tears at the thought of hating her. She nodded once and sighed.

"I really do love Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan." She confessed. "I know that you don't like it. I know you feel threatened by us getting closer because I was spending all my time with him and none of it with you." She smiled. My eyes widened a little when I realised that she was right. "I'll always want to be your friend, Hinata-chan, but we're both going to grow up and find love. I just found it first this time." Her eyes twinkled like they did the first time she managed to beat my father in a contest of words and take me out of the village to watch the wolves.

"Sakura-chan...thank you." I smiled. We heard footsteps and looked towards the door. I saw her eyes shift from green to yellow and then back. She was just as afraid as I was.

—Naruto—

The darkness covered our movements, though we still had to be careful. We were only on the outskirts of the village, and yet there had already been so many times that I nearly slipped up. No matter how determind I was to get the girls back, I was still a Genin. It would have made more sense for someone like Kakashi-sensei or Iruka-sensei to take the mission.

"Naruto, focus!" The old man scolded me, slapping me lightly on the back of the head. It reminded me of Sakura-chan, the way she would always hit me when I did something stupid. Yeah, I got hit a lot.

"Right, whatever, old man." I whispered back, covering my mouth and slowing my breathing when someone walked past me.

This was going to be a long night.


	28. My Right Hand

**Hi!**

**Okay, so this'll be one of the last chapters. It all depends on what I write in the next chapter, but I will definately have at least two more chapters. They should, hopefully, come pretty quickly, but I have started college now, so I don't mean tomorrow. I will try to have the next update within the week :) Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review, because that's what keeps me going!**

**Shadow Quil**

Chapter Twenty Eight

This whole series of events is colliding together. Sakura and Hinata in the cell, Naruto and Jiraiya sneaking into the village, the Akatsuki planning the downfall of their enemies. However, even through all of this nail-biting suspense, there is one question running through the minds of most.

Where's Sasuke?

Well, in answer to that question we will have to travel far from Amegakure, through the Land of Fire, back to Konohagakure no Sato. But really, who wants to travel that far? So, instead, I'll just say that he's training and reverted back to his emo-self (not that he ever _wasn't_ emo). And, now that you know that, we'll catch up with what Naruto and Jiraiya are doing.

It had taken all night, but Jiraiya had locked on to Hinata's familiar chakra signature and found where the girls were being held. He and Naruto were very close, though the guards were more attentive as they got closer to the large tower that, as the hermit had explained, was the Kage Tower of Amegakure. The blonde boy had no idea what Hinata and Sakura were doing there after being caught by criminals, but didn't think on it too much.

—Hinata and Sakura—

The girls waited with baited breath as the footsteps drew nearer. Closer and closers, heavier with each step. It stopped suddenly and an unwelcomed chill pierced Sakura's spine. Her ears twitched when she picked up a low, throaty growl and she pulled into to the back of the cell, shielding her from whatever was going to enter through that door.

It creaked open.

—Naruto and Jiraiya—

"Oh no." Jiraiya whispered.

"What? What is it, old man?" Naruto asked back in hushed tones. The old man looked worried as he gazed up at the tower.

"Hinata-chan's chakra just became more jumpy. She's scared of something." He explained, his eyes leaping from place to place. "Okay, Naruto. I'm going to distract all these guards. You go inside and find the girls. When it's safe, I'll find you. Just get them as far as you can."

"Right."

—Hinata and Sakura—

"Well, well, well." Pein scoffed as he paced inside, his strides long and proud as he looked down on the ex-Akatsuki girl. "The day has finally come where I can dispose of you, Haruno." He sneered.

"What do you want?" Sakura hissed, hiding Hinata behind her. "I'm not in your way anymore! Just let me go back to Konoha with Hinata."

"Ah, but then you might reveal Akatsuki secrets." He stated, his eyes narrowing into a deadly glare. "We can't have that."

"I won't breathe a word."

"I should think not." He smirked. "After today, you won't breathe at all." The man added, stepping aside and allowing Zetsu into the cell. Pein moved forwards and took Hinata's arm.

"No! Leave her alone!" Sakura yelled at him, beating his arm and trying to pull Hinata back. She was pushed away and Pein left the room with the Hyuuga heiress, locking the door behind him. Sakura was thrown into darkness and she knew, with absolute certainty, that Zetsu was hungry.

—Hinata—

I'm scared. Too scared to talk or ask where we're going. From the amount of steps we've taken already, I could guess that the cell Sakura and I were in was somewhere near the bottom of this tower. He's taking me near the top. I was too scared to struggle against his hold—this man seemed to ooze power from his skin and it sent chills through my bones.

"You are Haruno's friend." He stated, no question implied. "That is the only reason you are still alive. She will die today, you can be sure of that. If you are lucky, I may allow you to live."

_'The way he said that...He thinks of himself as some sort of God.'_ I realised with a gasp, seeing his emotionless face remain stoic as he spoke of death so easily.

"You are a test. I know that Haruno is powerful, but I've always wondered just what she would do to get to her friends." He continued. "That man I locked in the cell with her is hungry. He is a cannibal, Hyuuga-san. He will, if given the chance, eat her."

"No!" I yelled, finding the strength to start pulling away from him. As always, I was too weak. In his hand, he had more strength that I had in all my body, and it was sickening to think that I never stood a chance. I should have let Naruto come on his own—I'm holding him back.

A scream sounded throughout the tower and my eyes widened.

"Ah, the feast has begun." He smirked, as if the scream was fine music. My face hardened and a power I didn't know I head coursed through my veins.

"Let go of me!"

—Sakura—

It's gone. No. No. No. No. No. No. My...My hand. I can't feel my hand. It's...It's just...gone. I looked down at the stub of my wrist, then to his blood-covered face. It was in his mouth, being ground between sharp teeth. He, that bastard, had _eaten_ my right hand. My dominant hand. I watch in shock as he swallows it, my fingers going down his throat.

I want to vomit. The pain is intense, but nothing like the curse mark. No—just seeing him eat my own hand, feeling the blood drip from my wrist to the floor slowly, softly. I feel sick. That bastard took my hand. I...I want...

"I want it _back_!" I roared, diving towards him and making a move to punch my hand through his neck to reach inside and recover my limb. He's too strong for little Sakura, yes he is. But...I need to recover what's mine.

"**You're just as tasty as I imagined**." Zetsu grinned. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. My right hand is gone; my left hand is caught in his. He moves his mouth towards my shoulder, teeth digging into the skin before I head butt him harshly. The teeth tear through my flesh, but it could be ignored for now.

"Kisame warned me." I muttered to myself, falling into a useless fighting stance without thinking. I can't fight without my right hand. All of my fighting styles are based around punches, hand seals or weapons, all of which I need my right hand for, or else they're weak or I can't do them.

"_Stupid girl._ **I'm going to enjoy eating you.**" His voice seemed different, like two people fighting. I remember him chewing my hand. He had chewed and swallowed it on the right side of his body. A thought came to me.

"So, your right side got my hand and the left only scrapped his teeth on my shoulder. That seems fair." I tried, hoping it would work. When he laughed, both side of him, that is, I knew that I had failed.

"_Don't try to pit us against each other, little girl._ **We're two minds, but we're the same person.** **_Equal feed_**." They both chuckled, striding towards me and I panicked, looking to either side. He suddenly fell limp and I gasped, looking up to see red hair.

"Sa-Sasori?" I stuttered, recognising the puppet master.

"You were supposed to fight me next, and I didn't want to be waiting around to battle, just so that he could eat you." Sasori sighed, taking my wrist and bringing me out of the dungeon. "Now..." His strings attached to my lift side and I was thrown out of the window, into the street.

People stopped to watch the battle as Sasori jumped out, landing on his feet, whereas I had fall on my stomach. I pulled myself up shakily and coughed a little, struggling to gain my balance with the long, throbbing pain my right wrist was suffering. It was going to be hard to adjust to living with one hand...if I even live that long.

"You let her go!" My head snapped towards the voice and my eyes flew open as wide as they could.

"Naruto-kun!"

—Pein—

This Hyuuga brat believed she could overpower me. Me! A God against some puny little Genin. Yeah, right. She had broken free of my grip and charged at me, but I had knocked her out with a mere flick of my wrist. Leaving her on the stairs, I decided to go and release Zetsu from the prison. He would, no doubt, be done with his meal and waiting for me to let him out.

It is so strange, how I feel a sense of relief now that she is gone. I suppose it's all to do with her mother. Ah, yes. How could anyone forget the beautiful, foolish granddaughter of Haruno Amarante? Haruno Sakuranbo, for whom her daughter was named. Orochimaru had mention to him, several times upon joining the Akatsuki, the power of the Haruno woman and Pein I had to see it for myself.

Of course, Amarante was before my time, but I met her granddaughter and her son when I set out to Yukigakure. She was a sight to see, with long pink hair and sharp blue eyes, attempting to kill me upon sight before someone stopped her and took me to her father, the clan leader. I didn't fall in love with her, like the foolish Orochimaru had done years previously with her grandmother, but rather I found myself helplessly in love with her Kekkei Genkai.

Kanjoo Jiyuu. A name I hadn't heard for years after word of her death, during childbirth, reached me. It saddened me a little to hear that such a powerful woman had died, but didn't affect my overall plan for peace. Imagine my shock when Orochimaru brought back Sakuranbo's daughter, the bane of my existence, and told me that she too possessed the rare bloodline trait?

It excited me to learn that I could control her through the curse seal he had used on her. She was like a toy, easily manipulated and even easier to keep away from the members, due to her seemingly anti-social exterior. However, I was forced to learn that she was more of a social butterfly than that oaf, Deidara.

Without even meaning to, she had swooped in and forced half of the Akatsuki, _my_ warriors of peace, over to her side. I would have killed her sooner, if it weren't for my own master forbidding me from doing so. However, since the Kyuubi had come to us, following her to Amegakure, he allowed me to do as I wish with her.

She is just a child, after all, and Madara has no time for children. She wasn't even that powerful, when compared to Itachi, Kisame and even Deidara himself, who claims to love her. Really, when it came down to it, I would bet my own life as Nagato that they would abandon her to die if it was her or them. Criminals weren't meant for charity—thus the reason they so willingly agreed to kill her if she, by some miracle, escaped Zetsu. I merely had to threaten their place in Akatsuki, which was a cushy life for an S-Class criminal.

They all agreed, in the end. An A-Class ninja like her didn't even belong in the same tower as Gods and Angels.

—Kisame—

She's really gone and done it now. Someone, Sakura has managed to push Pein over the edge. He's ordered us to kill her! I believe that I'm the only one who refused. Even Deidara, who claims to be her soul mate, is willing to fight her as long as he gets to keep his ring. I hate scum like him, who would so willingly turn his back on someone he once fought with.

_"You're not afraid of me?"_

_"No. Why would I be?"_

_"This face. It has a certain affect on people."_

_"So? It's ugly, not scary."_

I could help but chuckle at the remembrance of our first meeting. She was so young, then, and didn't even bother with well veiled lies, preferring to tell the blatant truth. No one had ever flat-out told me that I'm ugly before—they were all too afraid of me or couldn't care less. But her...she didn't even blink when she told me what she thought.

_"Have you just come out of the training room?"_

_"Yeah. Why?"_

_"It stinks. So, it was either you or Tobi with a tuna sandwich."_

Sakura was such a brat. She still is, mind you. Just...in a different way. After growing up a bit, her sarcasm hit an all-time high, even managing to drive Itachi insane sometimes. Or, as she would say, more insane that he already was. I can't even recall ever meeting someone like her, in all my year of living. Sure, I'd come across a few Harunos during my travels, but none of them were as snarky and snappy as she was.

So, here I am, in my small room in the tower, packing up all the clothing and weapons that I'd need. After refusing to fight her, Leader told me that I would either do as he said, or be gone by Wednesday morning. No worries, though. I plan to be out of here sooner than that, and with a little pink-haired girl by my side as we make the trek to Konoha.

I have to wonder if they'd take me in, even for a little while. I know that I won't stay long—I love travelling too much. With a bag over my shoulder and a half-formed plan in my head, I leave my room in search of the only person I could ever call my friend.

—Itachi—

I do not know what the insolent girl has done to anger the Leader, but I will be sure to kill her swiftly if Zetsu and Sasori fail. She is a danger to me. Whenever she is around, my judgement lacks and I become foolish. It is obvious that I have some form of affection for her, so I must dispose of her before it grows to something a strong as Kisame's loyalty to the girl. I must admit, it will be bothersome to adjust to a new partner, but the fool deserves to be cast out for refusing such a basic order.

It's not like he's been ordered to kill his kin, or an old friend. Just a traitor who never learned her place. I would never even think of what Kisame is planning to do. The man is actually planning some form of escape. I am no idiot—I saw the idea spark in his mind before he even had time to realise just what he was planning subconsciously.

No. I will not allow my partner to make this kind of mistake. I will find the girl now, before he gets the chance, and slay her before he can go through with his plan. He obviously doesn't know that the Akatsuki would be forced to hunt him down and have him killed if he goes through with it. He never was one to think of the consequences, after all.

Now, all I have to do is find her.

—Hidan—

I have a new sacrifice. Ever since the day I saw her soft pink hair, her bright green eyes and her perfect skin I knew she was too good for this world. Really, I would be doing her a favour by sending her up to Jashin. Herratic or not, she was too perfect for him not to welcome her into his embrace. Then, when Jashin has decided that I have earned my place by his side, I will be with my God and Sakura as well.

Honestly, Deidara is the one who believes art is explosive. It begs the questions, really—if he believes that Sakura is such a work of art, why did he not blow her up years ago? He is a hypocrit and unworthy of a female like her. Only Jashin and, if he would permit, I, myself, should be allowed to gaze upon her. Then again, Jashin may reject her for her inner flaws.

Her lust for blood is only present when she uses her Kekkai Genkai, her mind cannot even begin to comprihend the awesome power of Jashin and she is far too sarcastic for his tastes. But, with a few years added to her face—as she is still just a child—and a change of attitude, she may just be right for his God, or at least up to a certain standard.

Oh well. Duty calls.

—Sakura—

I can't believe it. Naruto's here!

"I'm here to save you, Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!"


	29. Hidan's Weakness and Itachi's Choice

Chapter Twenty Nine

"What a foolish child." Sasori commented offhandedly as his eyes swept over Naruto's form. He looked back to me and I stepped back a little. He saw my hand, or lack thereof, and sighed. "An arm with no hand is little more than a nuisance." He shrugged, leaping forwards.

I couldn't move in time and his sword, covered with his specially-made poison, drove through my flesh. The pain temporarily blinded me as I heard my dead, useless limb fall to the ground. The world seemed to slip away as my left hand clutched the open wound on my shoulder, where my arm was once attached quite normally, with or without a hand.

"Teme!" Naruto roared, the Kyuubi taking his mind. My eyes flashed dangerously to a shade of deep red and I moved, flicking the enraged boy aside as though he were a fly. As he fell, his conscious mind flowed back to him and he looked at me with an emotion I had never seen directed at me through those big, blue eyes.

Fear.

Looking away from his capturing glance, I faced Sasori, my eyes spinning and changing between grey and red before finally settling in white. I felt my soul tear in two as my mind split, ripping apart at the seams. Sakura wasn't here anymore. Now, only Yang and Yin remained.

—Naruto—

Something's happened to Sakura. She looks like she's ready to kill and yet, when she looked at me, I could only see her pain. I'm afraid. Not of Sakura, no, never my Sakura. I am afraid of what they'll do to her. It's obvious that she's more powerful than Sasuke, Kakashi and I had ever imagined, but if they're so willing to dispose of her, could she really be that strong?

When compared to Hinata, Sakura is a demon. When compared to Sasuke, she is an unimaginably powerful ninja. When compared to Kakashi, she is a true kunoichi deserving of her title. However, when compared to these people, these S-Class Criminals, is she really nothing more than a pawn to be disposed of as easily as that? Could they have that kind of strength?

"Naruto-kun." I heard a small, but soft and angelic voice ask from beside me. I looked down and saw Yang, standing to her full height and yet no larger than my thumb. She looked terrified and I looked for Yin, soon finding her and knowing what caused the fear of the lighter girl.

She stood to a height that made it impossible for me to even see her face. Her legs were longer than Kakashi's whole body and the single arm that remained on her was reaching for a calm redhead. I wondered why, when faced with her most powered, darkest form, he didn't even blink. Then I saw it. He used a technique that I had only seen once before, with a Suna Ninja.

Moving his arms to support the great height of her, I watched in shock and horror as the man took control of Yin using a puppetry skill that I thought must have been impossible. She turned towards me and Yang, who had, if possible, shrunk even more, moved to my head, looking up at her counterpart.

"Is this what it has come to, Yin?" Yang begged, tears forming in her eyes as the larger of the two moved to grab me. "Are we really this weak?"

"Sakura-chan!" I called, my fear increasing.

"No." Yin whispered, freezing in her actions. She began to shrink to a human size as Yang, jumping to the ground, grew. They held hands and became Sakura again and I was left to wonder what had made her lose control.

"Sasori." She said, turning to the puppeteer.

"Yes?" He mocked, smirking in amusement.

"I'm going to take your arm and then burn you like the firewood you are."

"I would love nothing more than to see you try."

She leapt forwards, determind as ever, but I saw her weakness. Without her arm, Sakura couldn't use weaponry to her usual standard, and the pain of her wound was slowing her down a lot. She didn't stand a chance against the man, even at full strength.

She was running to her death.

—Jiriya—

I watched in awe as the little girl put all of her remaining strength into a fight against one of the most powerful ninja I had ever encountered. Akasuna no Sasori was not a man to be trifled with; something she should have known after he disposed of her arm. Normally, I would help, but she had vowed to destroy him herself.

It really is something when a Genin taked on an S-Ranked criminal with no fear in her eyes; no hessitation. Naruto must have made quite an influence on her, for when I had last heard of the girl, she was quite, yet cunning. Now, she was just as head-strong as he was, only with more intellect behind her—a dangerous combination, especially when mixed with pain.

Still, I am not sure if the battle is a lapse of her judgement or a well-organised scheme, but from the mad look in her eyes I would think the former. As she is lifted with ease and thrown away from him—all with a mere flick of the puppetter's fingers—I know that she may not live to tell the tale of how she fought an Akatsuki.

The girl, Hinata, was with me. I had found her on the steps in one of the towers, unconcious. Knowing that it would be wrong to leave her, since anyone could be lurking around, I had picked her up and she was currently on my back, her arms over my shoulders. I knew that she would have fainted anyway, if she saw the state her best friend was in.

She, Sakura, got up and ran at him again, only to be thrown again. Yet still, she got up again and again, never letting him see her on the ground for more than a second each time. Her expression was blank, as if she was counting on him throwing her around. It was then I noticed, and I think he noticed too—but it was far too late.

—Sakura—

With one smirk, I pulled the wire in my hand and Sasori's puppet body was pulled appart. I knew it wouldn't be long before he reassembled himself, so I grabbed Naruto's arm with my only remaining hand and pulled him away, towards where I felt Hinata's chakra. I knew how cruel the Leader could be; I doubted she was alright.

"Sakura-chan! Wait!" Naruto called, but I ignored him. Hinata was more important than his lack of breath. "Sakura-chan!"

"What?" I hissed in returned, seeing a glare on his face. He sped up and gathered me in his arms. "Put me down! What're you doing?"

"I may be an idiot, but I'm not dumb." He growled. "You're way too pale and you're losing blood fast. If you want to help Hinata, I'm going to carry you!"

"Not so fast." Some strange man with white hair grinned as he leapt into view.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto recognised. My eyes widened when I saw Hinata on his back and I breathed a sigh of relief. "So, back to Konoha now, right?"

"Right." The man nodded, leading the way through the tower. We moved down a twisted stairway and I know, without a moment of doubt, that this was not the way out of the tower. I jumped out of Naruto's arms and scowled at the man.

"Who are you?" I enquired dangerously.

"I am Jiraiya!" He grinned, winking. My eyes narrowed even further.

"Henge was never your best Jutsu, Hidan." I told him, watching as the image of Jiraiya and Hinata melted into the silver-hair Jashinist. Naruto leapt away instantly, his hands flying to his weapon pouch, but Hidan was quicker.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He smirked, holding the pouch above his head. "Now, we wouldn't want to give you a fighting chance now, would we? After all, you're the reason Sakura-chan here is being hunted down."

"Wh-What?" Naruto blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Ohho? You don't fucking know?" Hidan laughed loudly. "You're the reason she turned against us! Her mission was to capture you for the Akatsuki, but she refused. No one refuses the Akatsuki, so she knew that she'd be killed for it."

"Sakura-chan, is that true?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide. Sakura didn't look at him, choosing instead to glare at Hidan. The silverette smirked.

"Of course, this really isn't fair." He sighed. "Zetsu got your hand, Sasori got your arm. What do I get?" Hidan scanned her and smiked widely. "I suppose it's only fair if I get your head!"

He lunched, a three-bladed sythe appearing in his hands. Hidan swung it and Sakura ducked at the last second, watching in shock as pink hairs fell to the ground before her. Hidan was serious. Suddenly, a flash of blue appeared and kicked Hidan aside, stopping in front of the Genin.

"Get out of here!" Kisame barked at them, blocking another hit from Hidan. The other man scowled and began to swear loudly, but his sythe was no match for Kisame's Samehada. "Go!"

"Thanks, Kisame." Sakura nodded, grabbing Naruto's wrist and running past them, knowing Kisame would be fine. As it was, the only thing on her mind was finding Hinata and getting away, back to the safety of Konoha.

—Itachi—

That fool got to her first, helping her escape Hidan. No matter; it is my turn next and I shall not fail the Leader. Although I would have preferred to fight her when she was at her best, it cannot be helped that Zetsu and Sasori forced a large handicap onto her. Her entire right arm—gone. I cannot help but smirk at the thought of it. It would not have happened if she were stronger.

Thoughtfully, she had almost presented the Kyuubi to us on a silver platter—he came to her rescuse, just as I predicted. It saves us the time of going to Konoha and hunting him down ourselves. A Hyuuga also found her way into our base, but was soon picked up by the Sannin, Jiraiya. He always was an oaf, but I am wary of him.

Should Jiraiya show up, would my attack continue? Most likely not. Though I am sure I could face the Sannin in a fight, it would be time-consuming and against my best judgement to fight him at full strength. No kill, no matter how distracting the girl is, would be worth risking my life for. Sakura would walk free should the Sannin find her, so I had to get there first and finish the job.

This will be most amusing.

—Sakura—

Kisame has always been a friend to me, but I never realised that he was willing to risk his neck for me. I wouldn't normally leave someone like that behind, but I had to find Hinata; quickly. This place was far too dangerous for her, and if Leader had her, she was in danger. I could feel her chakra, so I knew she was not dead, but...

"There! Sakura-chan!" I looked up upon hearing Naruto's voice and saw an unconcious Hinata on the back of Jiraiya—the real one, this time. He nodded to us and leapt out of the window, running down the side of the tower. Naruto and I followed his example, though the blonde was clumsy at first.

Konoha was miles away, and I had the Akatsuki—minus Kisame—out to kill me.

Now that I can think more clearly, I was only a danger to everyone. My wound would slow them down and they would be under the threat of Akatsuki every moment. I couldn't risk Naruto like that, or Hinata. It would be best for them if I died here, and now.

I felt the chakra of Itachi behind me and my eyes closed. He would do the deed for me, no doubt. The teen had been out to kill me since I had arrived, finding me distracting and weak. Surely, his strength would be enough to take me out with one hit or—if he's feeling cruel—I would be trapped in his Tsukiyomi.

His chakra stopped.

I sighed.

—Itachi—

I cannot attack. Damn that Sannin for being so fast to find them. My plans, ruined. Perhaps next time our paths meet, her head shall be mine for the taking, but not now. I could see by her movements that she had sensed me, but then the stangest thing happened.

She faulted.

It was almost as if she were inviting me to kill her; as if she wanted to die. I could easily see why, though. She was a danger to everyone around her, after all. No one she knew could be sure that they weren't the next target to lure her out so that we could silence her once and for all.

She fell.

Perhaps she shall do the job for me.

—Naruto—

My heart stopped when I saw Sakura fall through the air, but I was able to breathe again when Jiraiya caught her. We reached the bottom of the tower and he handed Hinata to me, checking over Sakura's shoulder. He winced as he took of his outer-robe, placing it on her and tying one end to her shoulder to try and stop the bleeding.

"She lost conciousness due to blood-loss." He told me. "This girl needs a medic, fast. Without one, she'll die in a matter of seconds.

"Then, perhaps, I should save my blades." A voice I didn't recognise called from the tower. "It would only cost me to have them sharpened again."


	30. The End of All Things

Chapter Thirty

This was not the scene I had expected.

The girl always was the weak link in Akatsuki, but for her to be in critical condition after so little was just pathetic. She had only really faced Sasori and Zetsu—the others either didn't fight her or went easy on her. And now she was unconscious in the arms of a Sannin. This little girl that seemed like such a good idea at the time...

He could vaguely remember when she first arrived—there was a vicious dent in Akatsuki's funds after they had to purchase equipment suitable for the care of a young kunoichi; all up to Orochimaru's expensive standards, as he was the one responsible for her at the time. She had the audacity to ignore everyone and demand where her room was.

Sasori had brought her in from the forest, taken her to Orochimaru and from there I had hated her. She was all give—attitude—and take—money. Not my kind of person. To top it off, she was never really a worth-while addition to the Akatsuki from the start—she couldn't hold her own in a fight against anyone we were sent on missions to kill and she was terrible at reconnaissance.

Apparently, she only had one mission—the Kyuubi mission. It was her purpose and nothing further. She had failed; idiot child. One simple mission and she had gotten emotionally involved. She deserved to die—she has had it coming to her for a while now.

"Your time is up, Sakura."

--

"Why're you betraying us, Kisame?" Hidan snarled as he dodged the Samehade for the xth time. He growled, pushing off of the ground and slashing at Kisame with his scythe. The ex-Mist-nin parried, of course, and Hidan had to pull away again.

"Sakura doesn't deserve this." Kisame stated, moving to the side when Hidan attempted a slash from the side. "She never asked to join Akatsuki. Orochimaru attacked her right after she'd run away from her village and forced the curse seal on her—Leader wouldn't let her go."

"Then why didn't she kill herself?" The Jashinist smirked, stopping his attacks; it was useless to fight Kisame, after all. Kisame stopped too and the two of them just stared at each other. "She could've saved everyone a lot of trouble."

"She's a kid, Hidan." Kisame scoffed. "No matter how strong she gets, she's still a kid. Kids have this instinctive fear of death—she couldn't have killed herself if she wanted to."

"That fucking sucks."

--

"Put me down, Jiraiya-sama." Sakura said weakly to the Sannin. Jiraiya shook his head.

"You're too weak to move on your own." He replied. "Besides, no Akatsuki member in their right mind would attack a Sannin."

"That's what you think." Kakuzu smirked, preparing to lunge at him.

"Kakuzu." Pein called from behind them. "Let them go."

"Are you serious?" The Missing-nin growled to himself.

"Konoha is a five-day trek from here. It would be amusing to see if they make it before Haruno bleeds to death." His eyes showed amusement. "I would estimate three hours before she's too close to death to save."

"Let's go!" Naruto yelled, picking Hinata up and running at top-speed away from the two criminals. Jiraiya turned and quickly caught up as the four of them moved towards Konoha at an amazing speed.

Regretfully, it was not quite amazing enough.

--Previously--

"Pein." An ominous voice called from the shadows of Pein's office.

"Madara-sama." Pein bowed. "The girl will be dead soon; Kakuzu is taking care of her."

"No, let her go."

"What?"

"She will die during their journey." Madara smirked, a small chuckle escaping his mouth. "Her blood-loss is too great; no amount of speed will save her."

"As you wish."

--

"There's a town ahead!" Naruto yelled, but he was pulled away from that direction by Jiraiya, the Sannin carefully avoiding the heiress on his back; she had fainted from the sight of Sakura's lost arm. "What're you doing?!"

"Calm down!" Jiraiya called back. "That town is under Amegakure control. We need to get to somewhere that'll treat her, not a place that'll further try to kill her."

"How long will that take?!"

"...Too long."

--

Pein's prediction had been wrong—Sakura had struggled through three hours, but had fallen unconscious before they made it to the closest village not under Akatsuki control. When someone with medical knowledge finally got to her, they said it was too late.

Naruto's heart broke.

Hinata was devastated.

Jiraiya could only watch as two Genin were destroyed.

--

"Is something wrong, Kakashi?" Gai asked his rival when Kakashi had suddenly stopped—they were walking towards the training grounds for a spar.

"I...I think there is." Kakashi frowned, turning. "I'll see you later." He announced, poofing in a cloud of smoke.

"Darn you and your coolness, Kakashi!"

--

"Sensei." Sasuke acknowledged when Kakashi appeared in front of him. The boy had felt a chill run through him and his suspicions were only worsened by the appearance of his sensei.

"Sasuke, I think it's time I tell you what's going on with Sakura and Naruto."

"Why now?"

"Later might be too late."

--

"I see someone coming." Izumo noticed. "It's Jiraiya-sama and Naruto with the Hyuuga heiress! Tell the Hokage!"

"Right!" Kotestu nodded, poofing away. The ninja approaching the village got closer and Izumo's blood ran cold when he saw what Jiraiya was carrying. He wished suddenly that he hadn't told Kotetsu to tell the Hokage when people stared to gather around the gates.

"They have Sakura!" A girl's voice broke through the crowd as joyous cheering spread like a wave. Izumo didn't look away as many did when they saw the pink-haired girl closely.

She was too pale to be living. This was the first thing he noticed. The next was her mission arm—masses of dried blood around the wound showed the most probable cause of death. People began crying, but Izumo only stared.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called as he pushed through the crowd. He met the blonde's eyes and saw a flash of something he had never seen in the boy's eyes before—desparation.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry." Naruto said, his voice even. He had long since run out of tears.

"What for, Dobe?" The Uchiha asked, looking around the tiny group of travellers, his eyes falling on Sakura.

He couldn't speak.

Kakashi bowed his head in respect and guilt—he had lost another team mate to the icy hands of death. All he could do now was hope that she had reached the afterlife peacefully.

--

Weeks later, war broke out in Konoha—beween them and an ill-informed Suna.

Sasuke left Konoha to be trained by Orochimaru. He went on to defeat Orochimaru, kill his brother and set his eyes on Konoha for his next source of revenge—he was a lost cause, too set on revenge to see passed his blade.

Hinata demanded training to become Clan Leader, and wasn't denied. She became stronger, surpassing her younger sister and becoming the pride of her clan, just as Sakura said she would be.

Naruto never lost sight of his dream, to become Hokage. He promised himself that he would get Sasuke back and fulfil his dream, not allowing himself to let the loss of his first and only love to hold him back. Sasuke had shown him how empty a human could become with revenge as their only goal, and he swore that he would not turn out like that.

Kakashi didn't take on another team. He became later to morning appointments as now he did not pray for two names, but three when he visited the Memorial Stone. He resumed his ANBU career and kept in touch with Naruto, treating him to ramen occationally—he refused to fail the only one he had left. In the end, he died of old age—a retired ninja.

Sakura, so they believed, watched over them as they grow as people and ninja; she was there when Hinata was named sole heir to the clan. She was there when Sasuke had finally killed his brother. She was there when Naruto confronted and beat Sasuke, dragging him to the destroyed Konoha and beating him some more. She was there when Kakashi breathed his final breath in peace, his last wish that Naruto and Sasuke would be able to do the same.

Kisame was found as a traitor to Akatsuki on the day Pein let Sakura go and was killed for his actions against the organisation. To the end, Itachi stuck to his belief that Kisame was wrong for aiding Sakura's escape, but even at Kisame's end he hadn't looked away—his partner diserved respect for his loyalty, at the very least.

She had proven Mizuki wrong.

"_As for Sakura…well, she's full of rage, scorn and hate. Not even I know why, but it's there. I can feel it boiling up inside of her every day of her life. One of these days, she'll lash out and kill anyone who stands in her way."_

She had died a ninja's death, from a wound inflicted by her enemy.

Her scorn and hate had faded through her time with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Hinata. She became human, thanks to them, and she had died as she had wanted to live.

In the embrace of a demon.

In Naruto's embrace.

"_I love you, Naruto."_

"_Don't leave me, Sakura-chan."_

"_I'm sorry I...can't...protect you any...more..."_

"_NO!"_


End file.
